


Kintsukuroi

by LordYouko



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Angst, Aristocracy, BAMF Inuyasha, BDSM, Breathplay, Collars, Dom/sub, Dubious Morality, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Kneeling, Leashes, Lemon, M/M, Master/Pet, Master/Slave, Masturbation, Moral Ambiguity, Oral Sex, Ownership, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Protectiveness, Punishment, Rough Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Royalty, Sex, Slave Inuyasha, Slavery, Smut, Spanking, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Whipping, Whips and Chains, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-08-12 09:51:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7930162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordYouko/pseuds/LordYouko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Want To Be Your Slave. Sesshoumaru's little pet, Inuyasha, was supposed to be nothing more than a puppy-slave the demon Lord purchased at a whim. But with the little puppy growing up, is that all he will remain to the cold prince Sesshoumaru?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**_Story: Kintsukuroi_ **

**_Summary:_ ** _Sequel to Want To Be Your Slave. Yaoi, slavery, BDSM, possible mpreg, Master/slave._

 **_Disclaimer:_ ** _I do not own Inuyasha and make no money from the writing of this fic._

 **_Warnings:_ ** _This story will contain yaoi, lemons, slavery, D/s, BDSM, possible mpreg, S & M, violence, possible bestiality. If any of these offend you, please leave._

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

**Prologue**

**.**

**_Kintsukuroi_ ** _(v.) – “to repair with gold”; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver laquer, understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken_

**.**

 

“Be careful, Inuyasha,” a young male voice taunted. “The next thing to be sliced off will be your goddam neck.”

Inuyasha grinned. In the winter morning sunlight, there was flash of fangs and katana. Inuyasha flipped over and landed on his feet, skidding over to a safe distance. His opponent wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and came away with blood.

“In your fucking dreams,” Inuyasha taunted back, getting to his feet and falling back into stance.

The other boy readied his sword and leaned in to attack. Inuyasha allowed him to get close enough to brush the kissaki against his red haori and then rolled out of the path of the blade, striking the back of the other boy’s head with the handle of his sword.

But that left his torso unprotected and a slash across his abdomen and a kick to the chest sent him tumbling back to the ground.

His opponent growled, pissed about taking a solid hit to the head, and pressed his advantage, striking the fallen hanyou from above. Inuyasha blocked the attack with his sword, arms struggling to hold the entire body weight of the other boy. Instead of pushing him off, Inuyasha allowed his opponent’s weight to bear down and suddenly moved out of the way, swiping the other’s legs out from under him.

The boy fell flat on his face, and when turned, Inuyasha was standing over him with his sword pointed at his throat and a shit eating grin on his face.

“Loser,” Inuyasha jeered, lifting the defeated boy’s chin up with the tip of his sword. A small drop of blood oozed out where the kissaki broke skin. Inuyasha’s opponent glared up at him resentfully but remained still, mindful of the blade at his throat. His free hand clenched the dust on the ground in frustration. Inuyasha smirked down at him, holding his place pressing upwards with the sword just enough to force the other boy to stretch his neck and expose his throat even more. Even with the sun in his eyes, the boy saw Inuyasha’s glinting eyes and swallowed nervously.

“Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha froze. Before his smirk had even had time to slide into a happy grin, Inuyasha had turned and dropped to his knees, hands coming before him to bow low in the direction of that familiar voice. At some point, he’d allowed his sword to fall out of his hands, but he hadn’t noticed when that happened.

Sesshoumaru stepped out from the shadow of some trees and allowed his youki to become noticeable. Inuyasha’s opponent inhaled sharply as he felt the powerful energy nearby and turned towards the approaching crown prince.  He had heard that Lord Sesshoumaru sometimes came to witness his pet’s training but this was his first time being in the presence of the great Lord. He desperately hoped the demon Lord wouldn’t decide to demonstrate on him. But the warrior prince wouldn’t stoop to spar a low level youkai like him. Right? Heart hammering in his chest he kept his head bowed respectfully as the other demon approached.

“Sesshoumaru-sama!” Inuyasha greeted enthusiastically, raising his head to see Sesshoumaru standing before him. “Did Master see? I won!” 

Sesshoumaru glanced at the other boy who seemed to be using all of his will power to not drop to his knees, if the tremble in his knees was any indication. The demon Lord could feel the two racing hearts before him; one in excitement, and the other in fear.

“A warrior must never abandon his weapon, even when the battle is won,” the demon prince lectured, and Inuyasha’s ears swivelled eagerly in tandem with that deep, melodious voice. “Pick up your sword and sheath it.”

Inuyasha’s face turned red and he scrambled to his feet, avoiding Sesshoumaru’s eyes. Looking around hastily, he spotted his sword lying in the dust; he could feel his Master’s gaze heavy on him. He picked it up sheathed it, coming back to his place to kneel at the Lord’s feet.

“Your victory, as it was, would not be possible without your weapon,” Sesshoumaru rebuked. Before him, Inuyasha’s ears drooped and fell back on his head. “Clean and oil your blade before you put it away. You will be in my chambers before I get back.”

Without waiting for a response from the hanyou, he turned away, walking leisurely towards the palace.

He didn’t see Inuyasha’s crestfallen face when he looked up to watch his Master leave.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The first thing Inuyasha always did after training was have his meal. His bottom still stung from the phantom pain of the spanking his Master had given him the one day he had forgotten to eat after training.

The second thing Inuyasha did was take a thorough bath at the servants’ bathroom which was always empty at this time as no other servants had training and they were already busy with their chores. He carefully scrubbing all the dirt, grime and sweat from his body, so that it was squeaky clean in case his Master desired to use it. He hissed slightly from the cold water, but since his body had had a chance to cool down while he had his meal, it didn’t feel as icy as it would have had he immediately bathed after his training. After his bath, he went back to his room.

Inuyasha was the only slave in the palace to have his own separate room; Sesshoumaru didn’t want anybody sleeping in close quarters with the hanyou. It was a small, tidy room. Inuyasha opened the single wooden closet in the room and took out his black leather collar with a ring in the centre for a leash for when his master wished to put one on him. Sesshoumaru had instructed him to take it off during training and bathing and refastening it around his neck was the first thing Inuyasha did after he had had his bath; being without a collar was no longer as panic-inducing as it had been in the beginning but Inuyasha still felt nervous and anxious without it and tried to spent as little time out of it as possible.

Next, he sat down cross-legged on the clean stone floor and carefully unsheathed his blade. Cleaning it didn’t take long, but nevertheless, he still made sure there was no dirt stuck near the tsuba or in the hilt; if his Master deigned to inspect it and didn’t find it satisfactory, there would be hell to pay, after already having fucked up once today.

Next to the window was a simple desk and chair. In one corner of the desk were piled a few thin books and a pen. Inuyasha no longer slept in his Master’s chambers every night; he had outgrown his puppy basket, and the added duties of being the crown prince made sure that Sesshoumaru spent less and less time in his chambers, and the nights he _was_ there, he did little more than sleep.

Inuyasha put his sword back on its stand and glanced regretfully at the books on his desk. His work from his lessons yesterday was incomplete and he would be scolded by his gentle old teacher, but there was nothing for it now. He shut the window and stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t bother to lock it. No one would be stupid enough to steal from the prince’s personal pet.

Sesshoumaru-sama probably would not be back for a little while; the rare occasions he had the chance to return to his chambers after attending court, he preferred to have a long bath in his personal hotsprings before returning to his chambers. Still, Inuyasha did not want to risk being late and disobeying the order he’d been given.

The late morning seemed especially bright and sunny to Inuyasha as he crossed the servant’s quarters and headed over to the wing that housed the Sesshoumaru’s chambers. That the prince took time out of his busy schedule to come to his pet’s training made Inuyasha’s insides grow warm and mushy. He had gotten much more skilled in his physical training than he had with his lessons. Except the blunder with dropping the sword today.

Inuyasha’s step stuttered; he felt the embarrassment physically. To be caught in such a gaffe just when his Master came to watch – it wasn’t fair, Inuyasha thought. Wasn’t he always on his guard while sparring? Didn’t he beat a full youkai today? He wasn’t in the habit of randomly dropping his sword, he really wasn’t. But Lord Sesshoumaru’s presence made him forget everything he had learned in his years at the palace. All his brain and body seemed to make him do was drop to his knees.

Guards let him pass into and through the demon Lord’s wing without question; Inuyasha had been in the prince’s service longer than a lot of them. Inuyasha came to a stop in front of Sesshoumaru’s chambers. The final set of burly guards at the great iron double doors stepped forward and with an effort, pushed the giant set of doors open. Inuyasha thanked them and stepped in; the guards pulled the doors closed behind him.

Inuyasha felt his anxiety and worry melt away; the chambers were pleasantly warm and Sesshoumaru’s scent was all around him. Slaves were charged with the sole duty of keeping these chambers at a pleasant temperature day and night, regardless of the weather outside. Moderate sized fires were burning in the two fire places in the huge chambers. They were artfully placed so that only one fire would be visible from any given point in the chambers and both could be hidden from view if Sesshoumaru so desired. The large open windows were thrown open to let in light and fresh air. Inuyasha walked over to them and leaned over the ledge on which he had once stood in lashing rain as Sesshoumaru had held him in place and kept him from falling.

Taking a deep breath of the lingering scent of Sesshoumaru and not bothering to hide the grin that broke out on his face, Inuyasha bounded over to his Master’s favourite armchair. He knelt on the rug that was softer than his bed, sat back on his heels, and waited for Sesshoumaru.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Japanese word meanings:

Kintsukuroi (v.) – “to repair with gold”; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver laquer, understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken

Kissaki – the tip of a sword

Tsuba – the sword guard, placed between the sword hilt and the blade of the sword

Hanyou – half- demon

Youkai – demon

Youki – demonic energy, demonic aura

* * *

 

 **A/N:** Here is my Christmas present to all of you ^.^ The sequel to Want To Be Your Slave. It’s short but more is coming soon. As of now, I have planned for it to be a long story like Want To Be Your Slave, but it will depend to some extent on the response of readers and if anyone is still interested in a story in this universe. As always, all feedback – positive or negative is welcome. Feel free to use your capslock if you want.

Yes, the warnings say “possible mpreg,” but I haven’t decided on this 100%. If I do include this, the dynamics between them won’t change very much. Would you all like to see mpreg in this story?

I know I have been MIA for a long time, with this as well as Red, but in the meantime, I’ve had the good fortune of reading some brilliantly written fanfics in another fandom. I hope this has improved my writing; feedback on this is very welcome. I have recently started learning the Japanese language from the ground up – script and all – so hopefully, I will be using Japanese terms correctly this time around. If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

**Chapter 1**

.

" _Sometimes, it's not enough to know what things mean. Sometimes, you have to know what things don't mean."_

_–Bob Dylan_

_._

Steam rose off the waters of the natural hotsprings, and hung over the water and the rocks like a fog. Blurred figures of minimally clad youkai could be seen on the rocks.

Sesshoumaru was sprawled against a rock, submerged in the water upto his chest. He had tilted his head back and closed his eyes. His arms were outstretched and his pale throat was bared to anyone in the large area; the gesture said that the son of Inu no Taisho need not fear anyone or anything on his own turf.

His servants had already soaped and washed his body and long silver hair. Now, soft, delicate hands tended to him, slowly kneading the tension out of his arms and back. They belonged to his body servants – adolescent youkai boys, brought up and trained for this art. They all possessed flawless skin a nubile, delicate body that was a treat for the senses. Although the demon Lord's body was still lean and wiry, rock hard muscles now hid under toughened skin. Water lapped at the broad, strong chest half submerged in the warm water; the subtle scent of expensive soap lingered in the air. The servants' fingers and hands felt soft and feather-like on his now hardened body.

"Rough day, my Lord?" one of them asked in his soft, pleasant voice.

Sesshoumaru hummed low in his throat. The boy allowed himself to stare blatantly at the demon Lord, something he would not have dared to do had the prince's eyes not been closed. Years of war and training seemed to have left no mark on the prince's face and body, except to add that inexplicable suggestion of power and ruthlessness to his limbs and his eyes. The servant felt privileged and grateful to be able to fulfil this much coveted role.

He was surprised when golden eyes suddenly opened and fixed right on him. He blushed and lowered his eyes, fingers fumbling for a moment.

Sesshoumaru savoured the boy's embarrassment and fear for a moment. Sesshoumaru would be well within his rights to exact a rigorous punishment for a servant being audacious enough to stare at the crown prince. But he was satisfied with unsettling the boy; it wasn't like being stared at had ever bothered him. He closed his eyes again, and 8hid his smile when the boy behind him relaxed minutely and the fingers on his shoulders tightened for a moment before resuming their work.

After a while, Sesshoumaru held his hand up slightly. His servants immediately stopped. He could see vague reflections in the water, bowing and backing away. Sesshoumaru moved his relaxed limbs lazily, combing his fingers through his thoroughly washed and completely tangle free hair.

"Is there…anything else my Lord wishes?"

Sesshoumaru turned towards the sound of the coy voice, standing up straight and nude without a trace of self-consciousness. Some of the younger servants were blushing slightly but the one who had spoken – a beautiful, dark-haired boy with pale limbs - smiled meaningfully at him and bent over to pick up a bar of soap so that his pert little bottom covered in a small strip of cloth was in full view of the prince.

Sesshoumaru's face was inscrutable as he watched the beautiful, unblemished form of the young demon, putting on a show for him. He could hear the soft intake of breath from the other servants at this boy's audacity.

He didn't bother to acknowledge the boy. He glanced up at the others who immediately came forward with towels and fresh clothes. The bold dark-haired boy stood hesitantly to the side as Sesshoumaru's usual servants dried him off gently and helped him into his clothes.

He walked out of the hot springs without a glance at him as all the remaining servants bowed low at the waist and remained bowed.

Sesshoumaru approached his chambers leisurely and waited for his guards to push open the great doors, their bulky muscles straining for the task. They suspected that the sadistic prince found amusement in watching them labour for a task that would normally be effortless. Sesshoumaru walked in as the large, well-oiled doors opened soundlessly and were pulled closed with care by the sweating and panting guards. They didn't dare let the doors slam for fear of last time's punishment being repeated.

Inuyasha was on the rug next to his deep red armchair, adding logs of wood to the fire. The servants were trained to ensure that the room temperature would be pleasant but Inuyasha knew the exact temperature his Master liked after his soak. Sesshoumaru sat down and put one booted foot up on the small velvet footrest placed near his chair. Feeling lazy and indolent from the soak, he watched his pet.

Inuyasha smiled up at him in greeting. Fire reflected dully off the metal ring in the centre of the leather collar around his neck. The black leash attached to his collar dragged on the floor as the hanyou crawled on his knees to where his master sat. Sesshoumaru hadn't ordered him to wear the leash but his dutiful little puppy had known what his Master would desire today. Once he was close enough, Inuyasha bowed his head down over the foot on the floor and placed a soft kiss on the prince's black boot – his usual way of greeting his Master.

The prince's feet remained motionless, and Inuyasha sat back on his heels, slightly disappointed. The prints of those boots from last time were almost gone from his body now; maybe he could remind Master to retrace them?

But one of his ears was caught between familiar fingers now, and Inuyasha leaned into the touch, pleasure replacing whatever thoughts he'd had in his mind.

All too soon, the hand retreated and Inuyasha whined. The demon Lord watched him quietly until Inuyasha could no longer stand the silence.

"I cleaned and oiled my sword!" the hanyou told him sitting back on his heels. The expression on his face was like that of a puppy that had done a good job and expected his Master to reward him.

Sesshoumaru hummed noncommittally. Inuyasha frowned; his Master didn't seem to be paying attention to him and that just wouldn't do. When he leaned in close to him, he could faintly smell other youkai on his skin – probably the servant boys at the hotsprings. Inuyasha frowned even more fiercely.

"What's Master thinking about?"

Sesshoumaru blinked, eyes focusing on the hanyou at his feet. "An impending journey," he answered. Though his tone was stoic as usual, Inuyasha understood that it wasn't a journey he was looking forward to.

"Where are we going?"

That Inuyasha would be going with him, didn't need to be said. In all these years, he had accompanied the demon prince on every trip the demon Lord had taken. From the most luxurious sojourns to the fiercest wars, Inuyasha had been inseparable from his Master, tending to him in war and serving him in more pleasant ways in the more restful voyages.

When Sesshoumaru didn't answer for a moment, Inuyasha began to dread the answer.

"Do you remember Hiten and Manten?" Sesshoumaru replied finally and Inuyasha couldn't keep the look of horror from his face.

"We will be travelling South to Hiten's palace." Sesshoumaru watched puppy ears droop dejectedly.

"Must we leave immediately?" Inuyasha asked in a small voice.

"We will leave as soon as winter ends," Sesshoumaru answered

Inuyasha swallowed nervously. For once, he wished the winter would never end. "For how long will Master need to stay?"

"Indefinitely." He could not return until the undertaking he had been charged with was concluded. As if the destination was not disagreeable enough, the task itself was far from pleasant. This entire day seemed to be just rife with unpleasant tasks. The thunder brothers were not the only subject clouding his mood today, though it was the only one he would speak to his pet about.

The recollection of those two cruel demons left Inuyasha feeling cold; he shuffled closer, between the demon Lord's legs and rested his head on his Master's thigh. Sesshoumaru allowed it, resting his hand on the hanyou's head comfortingly. Even now that Inuyasha looked almost 15 by human standards, his entire head still fit easily under the demon Lord's palm.

Time held little meaning for the both of them, Sesshoumaru reflected, looking down at his pet, and still even a taiyoukai and prince was not exempt from the changes that time brought.

His fingers tightened slightly in Inuyasha's hair as his conversation with his mother from this morning came to mind.

" _Mate?" Sesshoumaru asked, staring disbelievingly at his mother. The beauty of gentle morning sunlight falling on the red silks and gilded, throne-like chairs in the elegant room, was lost to the prince today, in the wake of this unexpected and unwanted lecture. The thought of having a simpering youkai latched on to him for life was revolting._

_He would have thought that his mother, of all people, would understand that, given that she had remained resolutely unmarried for years longer than was usual, just because the idea of being bound to a lesser youkai for life had been repugnant to her. Not her parents, not the court, and not the pressure exerted by an entire kingdom had changed her mind, and Sesshoumaru knew that he had certainly inherited his mother's intractability, if nothing else._

_Lady Tsukiko, resplendent in formal white and silver robes for the court, folded her hands in the sleeves of her haori patiently. The elegant, yet cozy room that was her favourite; no one apart from her, really came here, which was why she had chosen it to have this delicate discussion with her son. It turned out, she had been right to be cautious; she hadn't expected to go over smoothly but Sesshoumaru wasn't taking this well at all._

" _It is not what you wish to hear, I know," she said in a reconciliatory tone,"But you have come of age and your youkai will require it soon. Indeed, I wonder that the need hasn't incapacitated you yet."_

_Sesshoumaru glared. Having a discussion about marriage was altogether too much to endure patiently after hours of mind-numbingly boring court. "I am not so weak as to be unable to handle heats."_

" _But it should be more than that," the Lady of the West mused, her cat-like eyes glinting. "Given the time that has elapsed since you came of age, your youkai's need to claim its mate should have left you incoherent. Yet you speak of your heats as though they were a minor inconvenience."_

_Sesshoumaru did not see what the problem was. His mother should have taken pride in the fact that he was not ruled by his base urges unlike other youkai. Yet she was looking at him now as though he were a particularly interesting insect._

" _Allowing more and more time to pass is unwise. Having this level of control over one's instincts is unheard of. Ordinarily, youkai can't – "_

" _I am not ordinary!" Sesshoumaru hissed. Now his mother was frowning the way used to at his tantrums._

" _Sesshoumaru –"_

" _No," the prince said decisively. "I am leaving for South soon. We can have this conversation after I return if my Lady is still concerned."_

Tsukiko hadn't insisted anymore; Sesshoumaru knew he had escaped this conversation for – a long time, by all estimates. But still, something about it made him uneasy. At the back of his mind, something didn't feel right. Sesshoumaru wasn't used to second guessing his own decisions and this feeling of doubt left him tensed once again. He wanted to break something.

Sesshoumaru released his hold on Inuyasha's head. "Bare yourself, puppy."

Inuyasha's face brightened and he scrambled to obey, quickly untying his clothes. He knew he wasn't to drag it out; Inuyasha was not skilled at being seductive. Trying to strip slowly like a whore would only make Inuyasha look fumbling and awkward. Besides, his Master didn't like being teased.

Within moments, Inuyasha was naked except for his collar and leash. Sesshoumaru took a moment to enjoy the sight of the boy's body with the firelight dancing on his bare skin.

Despite living in relative comfort and safety at the palace, Inuyasha remained thin as ever. Good and regular food had given him muscle mass; he had lost the unhealthy pallor of his childhood, but there wasn't an ounce of excess fat on him. And despite his physical training, his muscles remained barely defined, his limbs smooth and almost delicate.

The demon Lord reached forward and took hold of Inuyasha's leash; it was so long that it touched the ground even when the hanyou was standing up. The prince held the leash at the very end of it, so that Inuyasha's movements would not be at all restricted.

"The oil. Prepare yourself for me," Sesshoumaru ordered, leaning back to lazily watch the pup do all the work.

Inuyasha's cheek reddened. He briefly turned around to get the bottle of lubricating oil, treating Sesshoumaru to a view of his firm little bottom. He uncapped the bottle and smeared a generous amount on his fingers and pushed a finger gingerly inside himself. His Master hadn't taken him for days; fitting even two fingers was a stretch. Bending over in an awkward position, Inuyasha began to fuck himself on his fingers, face scrunching up from the slight pain and the intrusion. It wasn't a sensual sight; the naked hanyou half-bent over, awkwardly stretching himself, face tensed and screwed up. But his Master didn't like Inuyasha hiding anything at all – not discomfort, not pain, not even ineptitude.

When he was able to fit three fingers inside of himself, Sesshoumaru wound the leash around his hand and pulled. Inuyasha stumbled forward, almost falling onto Sesshoumaru before catching himself by bracing a hand on the backrest of his Master's armchair.

Sesshoumaru had to only raise his head slightly to look at the wide eyes and flushed face above him. He reached up and cupped his puppy's jaw softly. Inuyasha shivered slightly, from the cool air on his naked body, and the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes as he looked up at Inuyasha. It was intense and hungry and unbearably tender all at once. It left the hanyou frozen and breathless.

Then there was a firm, hard boot in his stomach as Sesshoumaru kicked him down lightly, with only enough force to topple him onto his bum on the rug between the prince's legs. Inuyasha moaned, catching himself on his hand before his oiled, sensitive hole came in contact with the floor.

"Get me ready, Inuyasha," the prince murmured.

Inuyasha eagerly scooted forward, gently, reverently taking his Master's cock out of his hakama. It was still mostly limp; Inuyasha blushed bright red. Being naked under his Master's gaze, being tugged and pulled by his leash, and  _oh god_ , that boot in his stomach – Inuyasha himself was already almost completely erect.

Inuyasha stretched his neck forward and took him in his mouth. The hanyou felt his own body relax with his mouth occupied in this way. The heat of his Master's body surrounded him, imprisoned as he was between the demon's thighs. The organ in his mouth grew larger and larger till it filled the hanyou's entire mouth, made him stretch his lips to accommodate it. Inuyasha no longer had any gag reflex remaining, unless Sesshoumaru specifically wanted to choke him. That could be accomplished by the collar around his neck, or his Master's fingers around his throat while Inuyasha had his cock deep in his foodpipe. However, simply deepthroating no longer caused Inuyasha to choke when his Master's fingers came to tangle in his hair, Inuyasha knew he was to take him deep, swallowing the large cock into his mouth and throat till his lips touched the base of his cock.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the snowy head going down on him so enthusiastically. The suction on his cock was just right; the once innocent puppy had been trained to please him, after all. He felt the hanyou's hands on his balls, gently massaging the testicles. Inuyasha's mouth looked so perfect, stretched wide and helpless around him like this. He could feel his release building under his slave's skilled ministrations and he fisted his hand in Inuyasha's hair and pulled him off his cock.

Inuyasha whimpered, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. He didn't bother to wipe it off. Sesshoumaru gestured slightly with his hand and Inuyasha stood up quickly, coming to straddle the demon Lord's lap with his knees on either side of him.

Sesshoumaru leaned back. One of his hands was on Inuyasha's hip, steadying him, and the other was wound around his leash. Inuyasha braced himself with one hand on the backrest of the armchair; although the demon Lord hadn't ordered him not to touch, grabbing onto his Master's shoulders felt disrespectful. With the other hand, he guided his Master's cock to his prepared hole. Straddling his lap, Inuyasha's head was slightly above the prince's so that he would have to look down to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes. He had to lean forward to reach the backrest and it brought his chest close to Sesshoumaru's face. The demon Lord closed his eyes and reveled in the mild scent of Inuyasha.

He felt the exquisite sensation of a warm heat on the head of his cock, and heard Inuyasha's gasp as the thick head stretched out the hole continued inwards as Inuyasha sat slowly and impaled himself on his Master's cock. He only stopped when he was completely sitting down on the demon's lap. He looked down at his Master's face just as Sesshoumaru opened his eyes. The demon Lord wasn't even breathing hard; his eyes were lowlidded and lazy. Inuyasha was already panting and flushed.

Holding the puppy's eyes, Sesshoumaru wound a few more turns of the leash around his hand, shortening it, forcing Inuyasha to bend down or risk being choked. Inuyasha gasped as the movement rocked the cock buried deep inside him.

"Fuck yourself," Sesshoumaru said, his dark, low voice the only indication that he was affected as well.

Inuyasha was bent awkwardly, and he placed both his hands on the armchair now. Slowly, he raised himself up till only the head of his Master's cock was inside him. He had to raise only the lower half of his body. Sesshoumaru's grip on his leash didn't allow him to raise his head. Screwing his eyes tightly shut, Inuyasha let his body drop down, spearing the cock deep inside him abruptly. Tears sprung to his eyes from the sudden, stabbing pain. His hole wasn't adequately prepared to handle Sesshoumaru's large girth; the hanyou should have stretched himself slowly.

But that would mean keeping his Master waiting. So he began to cant his hips up and down in short, sharp movement, ignoring the stabbing pain each movement caused. He was bent over almost like a dog now, except that a bitch got fucked and Inuyasha was fucking himself.

"My perfect little whore," Sesshoumaru praised, gripping Inuyasha's chin and jaw with his long fingers, forcing him to meet his eyes. Inuyasha flushed with pleasure, eyes fixed on the striped wrist near his chin; he couldn't raise his eyes to meet his Master's. The position in which he was didn't let Inuyasha hit his prostate, but being filled felt good.

No, more than that. It felt...relieving and  _right_ , in a way that had nothing to do with his cock being hard. Somewhere along the way, the ecstasy of being wanted and desired by the great demon Lord had turned into just pleasure, and the need to have his Master over him, inside him. It was frightening sometimes, how strong that need was, to be dominated by his master, to be used, consumed by him.

Inuyasha's cock was hard and leaking precum now, even as Inuyasha continued to grind and thrust the large taiyoukai cock inside of his half-demon hole; pain was sometimes as potent as pleasure in bringing him to the edge, especially when the pain was all for his Master's pleasure.

A few more thrusts he had managed to get the correct angle to spear his prostate; he knew it because just brushing that little nub inside of him sent pleasure tingling right down to his toes. Just two or maybe even one hit more and Inuyasha would cum; his Master hadn't said he was not to.

But firm hands clamped down on his hips then, and kept him from rising up again. Inuyasha gasped at the feeling of being held in place, full and stretched. He blinked hazily at his Master, a questioning look in his eyes.

"I would have your other half," Sesshoumaru said in a deep baritone, lowlidded eyes looking up at the hanyou in his lap.

A prickle of anxiety sparked in Inuyasha's belly and he looked down at his Master hesitantly.

His other half was his demon half. The pledge to unite all three of his beings hadn't been an idle one. The day his Master had claimed his youkai and forced it to submit, was the day Sesshoumaru had begun his self-assigned mission to reconcile the pure demon with the hanyou. Admittedly, the prince's methods were unconventional and more than a little unsettling, but in the process, he had managed to accomplish what Inuyasha never would have thought possible: he had tamed his demon half.

Although  _tamed_  didn't really describe it. More like, Sesshoumaru and the demon had gotten to know each other. Which hanyou Inuyasha thought was bizarre because he hadn't known the beast inside of him could think, much less understand. But his Master insisted that it could and had made it his personal experiment to civilize it.

The beast, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind it much once it had ascertained that the taiyoukai prodding at its mind was not, in fact, crazy. Its trust was gained excruciatingly slowly, but over the years, with Sesshoumaru's care, affection, and occasional whipping, the Inuyasha's youkai had come to believe that hanyou Inuyasha's Master did really want the hanyou's best interests at heart.

So began the process of teaching Inuyasha to transform on command. Mostly Sesshoumaru's command, but the demon Lord was satisfied with that for now. It was very strenuous and almost painful in the beginning, leaving Inuyasha exhausted and shaken for days afterwards, but it slowly got easier. The demon surfaced more and more easily with increasingly less strain on hanyou Inuyasha's body and mind. And Sesshoumaru began to call if forth with increasing frequency. The demon Lord had fucked him in demon form more than once but this was the first time he had ordered Inuyasha to transform in the middle of fucking.

Right now, said demon Lord was watching him calmly with his cock deep inside Inuyasha's hole. Inuyasha tried to raise himself up and found iron hands holding his hips in place.

"N-Now?" Inuyasha asked uncertainly, hands clenching on the armchair nervously.

"Now," Sesshoumaru answered calmly, and it was an implacable command. Inuyasha nodded shakily and closed his eyes, willing himself to relax as best as he could with a cock wedged deep inside him.

The room seemed frozen and silent for a few moments. When nothing happened, Inuyasha screwed his eyes shut even more tightly and began to fidget. Would his cursed youkai make him disobey his Master? No, he wouldn't let it, he wouldn't allow that-

"Let go."

Inuyasha could feel warm breath on his puppy ear and his Master's whispered command. A strong hand cupped the back of his neck and head over the collar, holding his head like an infant's. Sesshoumaru's thumb stroked his neck soothingly, pulling his body closer, shifting the cock inside him slightly, dizzyingly.

"For me," Sesshoumaru whispered, his lips brushing Inuyasha's ear.

The half-demon felt himself relax. Inuyasha could feel the heat from his Master's body soaking into his own. The prince's intoxicating scent, of thunderstorms and electricity was all around him. And mixed in that was the faint scent of other youkai on his Master's skin –

Inuyasha snarled, hair fanning slightly behind him, body tensing. Only Sesshoumaru's grip on him kept him in place, impaled over his Master's cock. When he opened his eyes, they were blood red. Fangs peeked out of his mouth and over his lips, and jagged markings crawled across his cheeks.

Sesshoumaru smiled, reaching a hand up to brush hair out the fierce eyes. The beast snapped its teeth but didn't try to bite the hand near its face. Its body remembered the consequences of doing that.

Hands came off the backrest of the armchair and gripped Sesshoumaru's shoulders instead, long, sharp claws digging into the skin like talons. The beast wiggled as best as it could in Sesshoumaru's grip, trying to raise itself up. The demon Lord kept it in place.

Inuyasha snarled, thrashing his head. The movement caused the collar around his neck to choke him and it panicked even more.

Sesshoumaru tugged the leash, pulling Inuyasha's head down.

"Calm yourself, Inuyasha," he ordered coolly, rubbing a thumb over furry ears. "You are safe."

Those words never failed to reassure the beast, however many times they were repeated. The beast stopped thrashing, breathing hard. It glared down at the demon Lord. The taiyoukai had a pliant, submissive demon on his cock. If it weren't for the demon prince's legendary control, he would have snapped long ago and just fucked Inuyasha into oblivion. But the demon Lord didn't even look punished, as if having to hold still like this wasn't difficult, as if remaining still and rock hard inside another person's body was the most natural thing in the world.

"If there is something you desire," Sesshoumaru told it, holding those blood red eyes. "Then ask for it."

In response, the beast growled and thrashed, trying to raise its hips up and down on the demon Lord's cock, though the prince wouldn't allow it.

"You are not a mindless beast," Sesshoumaru lectured, still holding it in place. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and bared his fangs, begging to differ.

Sesshoumaru reached down and rubbed a thumb casually over the head of Inuyasha's cock. The slit gushed precum at the stimulation and Inuyasha threw his head back and whined, half-pleading and half-threatening.

Sesshoumaru unwound the leash from around his hand. Holding Inuyasha in place with one hand, he reached up and snapped Inuyasha's collar open with the other, removing it from around his throat. Before the beast could savour its freedom, Sesshoumaru wound a hand in the long snowy hair and wrenched its head back. The pure demon keened and froze in place, now that its throat was exposed.

"If you want something – "

There were lips on its throat; a tongue tasting the sensitive skin.

" – you will use your words and beg me for it."

 


	3. A Youkai's Words

 

 

**Chapter 2. A Youkai’s Words**

**_“…_ ** **_It's my way_ **

**_My way, or the highway…”_ **

**_-Limp Bizkit “My Way” lyrics_ **

 

Demon Inuyasha said the first word it had learnt to say when Sesshoumaru had first begun to teach it to talk.

“Se-sesshoumaru…” The dark, raspy voice was breathless.

The demon Lord smiled against the thin pale throat, pleased that the demon was finally learning that it was best just to give the demon lord what he wanted because it wouldn’t be getting anything _it_ wanted otherwise.

Demon Inuyasha shuddered and gasped; there were fangs on his throat now, instead of lips as the taiyoukai smiled. Sesshoumaru was still fully clothed, having opened his hakama just enough to expose his cock and fuck Inuyasha.

“Sesshoumaru…please…”

Sesshoumaru rewarded it with a teasing touch to its hard and leaking length.

“Yes…good…” the demon Lord murmured and demon Inuyasha sneered down at him, growling low in his throat. What did this youkai think of himself, praising him like a dog…But its ears were quivering in that why that they did when Inuyasha was pleased.

Sesshoumaru caressed the puppy’s exposed throat with one thumb. His fingers encircled Inuyasha’s neck, easily wrapping around the small circumference. The beast moved its head slightly, experimentally; it could feel razor sharp claws on its jugular. The other set of razor sharp claws were near its cock as the demon Lord rested hand casually on his inner thigh, not allowing him the slightest contact on his cock.

Demon Inuyasha gasped. That wasn’t enough, not _nearly_ enough. But it knew it wasn’t getting what he wanted till he gave his alpha what _he_ wanted. So it reached down into the depths of its mind and pulled out the words it had painstakingly been taught.

“I want… to move,” the demon growled, blood red eyes falling closed for a moment as it tried to endure the torture without clawing the demon lord’s eyes out. It had tried that the first few times and its body still remembered the punishment.

There was a soft rustle of silk as both of Sesshoumaru’s hands moved to its hips and the demon Lord raised it up slightly and brought it back down hard.

Inuyasha’s snarl was enough to make Sesshoumaru’s guards jump. They looked at each other and then at the closed double doors, wondering what was going on in there and where the meek little hanyou pet fit into it.

Demon Inuyasha thrashed, finally feeling the pleasure it wanted but still not being allowed to take it. It flexed its claws helplessly, wanting to tear and rend, but not daring to incur the more powerful youkai’s wrath. The claws finally settled on Sesshoumaru’s shoulders, twitching reflexively as it was fucked according to the demon Lord’s whim.

Sesshoumaru felt ten tiny punctures on his shoulders drawing blood and did not react. The demon would be taught not to draw its alpha’s blood without permission, but not yet. This lesson was more important.

Demon Inuyasha took in the heady scent of the taiyoukai’s blood and inhaled sharply. Fangs elongated even more and eyes turned a deeper red as bloodlust hit.

Sesshoumaru raised him almost completely off his cock and slammed him back down. The demon keened and came hard, cum splattering over Sesshoumaru’s stomach.

The satiated demon closed its eyes and rested its head against Sesshoumaru’s shoulder panting, preparing to fall asleep and let the hanyou take over.

Its eyes snapped open in alarm as the demon Lord got up from his chair. The cock inside him was still hard and the demon Lord carried him over to a wall and slammed him against it. The sudden cold from the rock wall against its chest made the demon hiss. It hadn’t even been allowed to catch its breath after cumming.

The demon lord held him pinned by the neck and thrust into him hard.

The youkai gasped and arched as much as the grip would allow, his now relaxed, sensitive hole welcoming the hard intruder. It looked over its shoulder as much as it could.

Sesshoumaru’s eyes were bleeding red and those fangs looked sharper than they were before. The youkai laughed harshly, impertinently meeting the taiyoukai’s gaze.

“Angry today…are we?” it rasped and was answered with a bite to its shoulder.

Blood flowed copiously over the injured demon and Sesshoumaru raised his head up, enjoying the sight of the injured, impaled, wild creature in his grasp.

The cruel taiyoukai hadn’t allowed the puncture wounds on his shoulder to heal, knowing the effect the scent of his blood would have on the captured youkai.

Demon Inuyasha shook his head, not able to take it, not able to bear the sensations. To be trapped like this with bloodlust pulsing within him and his cock so hard…

“Nnnh uhh,” Inuyasha moaned, the pain and the pleasure all melding into one powerful feeling.

The demon Lord stepped closer to him and began to grind deep into that hole. Silky silver hair caressed Inuyasha’s bare, sweaty back as Sesshoumaru leaned close to him, over him, burying his face in the youkai’s neck, enjoying the scent of the full demon. Inuyasha moaned and squirmed. The taiyoukai’s nose tickled one side of his neck and the other side was throbbing from that bite.

“I want… to touch you,” youkai Inuyasha ground out as it was stretched wide, not given an opportunity to relax even for a moment.

Clawed fingers roamed wantonly, tauntingly, over his naked body and Sesshoumaru pulled him back from the wall enough to take a hold of his cock.

There was warm breath on his ears and Sesshoumaru murmured. “No.”

Demon Inuyasha gasped and gritted its teeth pushing into that wonderful hand, hardening again against his will.

“Wh-why?” the demon asked, baring his fangs in a grin. Blood red eyes looked back at the demon Lord. “You let… the others… touch you…”

Sesshoumaru stilled in surprise. ‘ _Others?’_ he thought.

He let the demon in his grasp move enough to turn to look at him.

“Their scent… you reek of it…” youkai Inuyasha continued.

The only people whose scent could be his bath servants, and Inuyasha was very familiar with it being on him. The hanyou had never spoken about it. Why would lingering traces of their scent bother the slave?

“Does it upset you, Inuyasha?” the demon Lord asked, golden eyes narrowing.

The demon bared its fanged and its glare intensified. “They had… their _filthy_ hands… all over you…”

His own youkai’s satisfaction and pleasure at Inuyasha’s words shocked Sesshoumaru.

Moreover, it made him uncomfortable.

A clawed hand fisted in Inuyasha’s long white hair and Sesshoumaru pulled its head back, forcing it to bear its throat again. Sesshoumaru’s youkai’s contentment was overtaken by his disturbed, chaotic thoughts and his youki flared, buzzing with anger.

The pure demon keened, feeling the more powerful demon’s displeasure, words lost for the moment as instinct to appease the dominant youkai in order to survive took over.

Inner muscles in Inuyasha’s hole, around his cock, clenched delightfully, giving the intruding cock more pleasure. The youkai’s arms fell to its side, showing his surrender as much as he could in the position that he was in.  The youkai licked its lips.

“You feel… good,” it panted, throwing its head back when its reward was an especially hard thrust. “So hard.. and hot… inside me.”

Sesshoumaru ignored the demon’s attempt to please him. He wrapped a hand around the tip of the youkai’s cock, preventing it from cuming.

Inuyasha gasped and looked down disbelievingly.

The demon Lord thrust in again, finding his prostate and Inuyasha screamed as his release was held back.

“Wh-why,” he rasped. “What did I… do wrong…”

Sesshoumaru hmm-ed against his neck, licking his neck that was salty with sweat. “You will hold back, little youkai,” the dark silky voice murmured, “For my pleasure… until I deem you worthy of release…”

Sesshoumaru did not himself understand why the need to dominate this youkai was so strong today. But anger was pulsing within him and his youkai was close to the surface and all he could think of was owning, possessing this body in every way. And its words… the words that his hanyou would never dare say…

Fangs tore into the already injured shoulder and Sesshoumaru thrust in again, harder, faster. Inuyasha shuddered from the pain and the pleasure and the heady scent of their blood in the air.

It was all too much. The demon Lord’s cock inside of him and the rough rock wall against his cheek and the taiyoukai’s implacable control. And his hands were trapped against the wall. He couldn’t touch the other youkai, couldn’t move away from him, couldn’t do anything but take whatever the demon Lord did to him.

“Please…” the youkai rasped, thrusting its hips into Sesshoumaru’s hands. Clawed fingers scrabbled against the walls, scratching four marks on the rock. “Please…”

“You’re mine,” the demon lord said, voice deep and dark and angry. Sharp golden eyes pulsed an angry red.

Youkai Inuyasha moaned from the pain and the pressure on his prostate and his alpha’s dark, threatening voice.

“Yours,” he panted. “I’m yours…”

The hold on his cock was released and clawed fingers were pumping him once, twice, and Inuyasha was cumming with a grunt as the demon Lord released inside of him.

Male youkai weren’t meant to cum more than once in such a short time, and demon Inuyasha found himself breathless and deliriously weak. His knees buckled and he would have fallen to the floor when Sesshoumaru stepped back, but for the iron hand holding him up.

He was picked up like a bride and carried over to the bed. The fierce demon moaned its protest, gnashing its teeth slightly at its handler. Sesshoumaru smirked down at him as he sat down in his chair with the demon gathered in his lap.

Some kind of blanket was pulled over its naked body and the youkai, exhausted, felt its eyes fall closed and prepared to sleep and let the hanyou take over.

“Stay a while,” Sesshoumaru murmured.

Youkai Inuyasha half-opened its eyes to glare up at the golden eyes above him. They were calm again, no longer tumultuous, but there was an edge to them, and the demon Lord looked thoughtful. The youkai he closed its eyes again, growling.

The markings didn’t fade, fangs remained elongated and demon Inuyasha slept peacefully in Sesshoumaru’s arms.

Sesshoumaru turned his head towards the open window. The curtains fluttered wildly and the wind howled. It wasn’t cold enough for snow yet; it would gradually get colder. Through stray clouds moving across the night sky, a large full moon was visible. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. Demon Inuyasha growled in its sleep, claws flexing involuntarily, snuggling closer to the taiyoukai, seeking warmth and safety and protection.

Sesshoumaru gathered him closer to himself and watched the clouds pass across the full moon. Demon Inuyasha didn’t turn back to his half-demon form until the demon Lord was asleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Morning found Inuyasha waking up in the demon Lord’s bed swathed in thick blankets under silk sheets.

He groaned as the morning sunlight hit his eyes and braced his hands behind him to sit up.

A sharp pain on his shoulder made him wince and looked down at his shoulder. There was a raw bite mark on his shoulder. It should have healed a little by now, but it still looked fresh.

Puppy ears flickered happily as Inuyasha poked happily at the new mark left by his master. His fingers came away bloodied. Inuyasha frowned. It should have at least scabbed over by now. None of the injuries he had received even during training lasted more than a night. He would have to ask Master about it the next time he saw him.

He threw the wine red silk sheets off him and swung his legs out of bed. All his muscles ached in protest. His ass was twitching and throbbing from the use it had been put to. He looked down at his claws suspiciously and brought them up to his nose to smell them.

His eyes widened in horror. Was that Sesshoumaru-sama’s blood on them? Had he – had his youkai injured the demon Lord last night?

He jumped out of bed, enjoying the punishment of his aching muscles now. The clothes he had worn yesterday were lying in the same heap he had left them. He went up to him and bent down, relishing the pain in his ass at the movement. Next to them was a stain from a little bit of oil Inuyasha had spilled while preparing himself. Inuyasha cheeks coloured slightly and quickly put his clothes on. He had hurt Master, drawn his blood. He looked down at his claws, wanting to bite them all off. But he knew it would not please the demon Lord if he did that, and his body belonged to his master, not to him.

He looked around for his collar and found it lying next to the armchair where his Master had thrown it. He picked it up and tied it securely around his neck, rather tighter than necessary. Why… why hadn’t Master punished his youkai for it?

He pushed the doors of the chambers slightly open with difficulty, and the guards outside hastened to open them the rest of the way.

In the courtyard, he looked at the sun in the sky and realised happily that he had missed his lessons. Now all he had to do was complete the work he had been given the last time, and he would be all caught up for his next lesson.

He crossed the stone pathways that led from the royal chambers to the servants’ wing.

“Inuyasha-chan!”

Inuyasha turned towards the sound of the voice and smirked at the boy bouncing towards him.

“What have I told ya about calling me that?” he demanded, catching the ball of fluff that was the fox demon Shippo in one clawed hand.

Shippo made a face at him and struggled to get out of Inuyasha’s grip. “Hey,” he grunted, content when he was finally let go of.

“I just came to-“

He stopped mid sentence. Large green eyes looked at Inuyasha suspiciously, and the little demon leaned forward and sniffed.

Inuyasha stepped back cautiously. But Shippo had found out what he wanted. He hopped up on Inuyasha’s shoulder before the other could catch him and pulled his haori back.

He hissed softly at the raw wound. Inuyasha frowned thunderously and snatched his haori from the fox demon’s paws, pulling it over the wound.

“What happened to you?” Shippo demanded.

Inuyasha turned away. “It’s nothing,” he answered gruffly.

“Inuyasha, who would do that to y-” he gasped as realization hit him. There wasn’t anyone else who would do that to the favoured slave.

“Was it… Sesshoumaru-sama?” Shippo asked hesitantly.

Inuyasha blushed but didn’t meet his eyes.

Shippo’s eyes widened in pity. If Lord Sesshoumaru had done that to him, there wasn’t anything much he or Inuyasha could do about it. It was a slave’s lot to quietly endure whatever their Masters did to them. Shippo had heard of the crown prince’s cruel and sadistic nature but seeing Inuyasha so happy all the time, he hadn’t paid attention to the rumours.

“Inuyasha… you should have that looked at by the healer,” Shippo said softly. “If it gets infected…”

“I’m fine,” Inuyasha said gruffly, turning away from the kid.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shippo didn’t understand, Inuyasha thought furiously, trying to concentrate on the book in front of him. None of them understood how fortunate he was. They looked at him with those pitying eyes, but they didn’t realize how lenient his Master was with him even when he had no reason to be. That the demon prince staked a claim on a slave this way, it was more honor than he deserved, Inuyasha knew. And on top of everything else, his demon had injured Master, drawn the prince’s blood. Inuyasha would punish himself as he deserved right now if his Master hadn’t forbidden it.

A clawed foot twitched restlessly in tandem with puppy ears, as Inuyasha sat crosslegged on his bed trying to memorize what his teacher had given him, but the letters didn’t make sense today; his thoughts were somewhere else.

His shoulder was throbbing ever so slightly, but he was strong enough that he didn’t need to run to the healer for this. He was _fine._

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

By evening, Inuyasha wasn’t feeling too well. His body felt like it was burning up and every movement was effortful. Inuyasha gritted his teeth and stubbornly headed out to the courtyard to complete his chores. He had been given the duty of sweeping up the leaves every evening when he wasn’t summoned by his Master. It was usually a pleasant task, watching the sky darken over the beautiful palace gardens and trees.

But today, it was an effort to even lift up the broom and bring it back down. Inuyasha suspected he wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

He stopped for a moment, leaning on the broom, shoulders sagging slightly. He blinked a couple of times. His head felt heavy and the colours of the grass and the leaves looked weird. Though he wouldn’t admit it to himself, his shoulder was sending lances of pain down his arm with every movement.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. He was strong, dammit! What was the point of all the training and the lessons if a little bit of pain made him shirk his duties? He took a deep breath, straightened himself, and continued with his task.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

Late in the evening, it was Raia, the head of the palace servants, who found Inuyasha collapsed on the stone walkway with the broom lying next to him.

 

 

 


	4. Strange Wounds

  1. **Strange Wounds**



 

**_“The night is the hardest time to be alive, and 4 am knows all my secrets.”_ **

**_– Poppy Z. Brite_ **

Work had carried the Inu no Taisho and his son to the heart of the Western Lands, and the sun had set by the time the king and the prince returned to the palace.

 

Raia was waiting at the gates for Sesshoumaru. It was torture, standing here and doing nothing until the demon Lord returned, but the healer had assured her that the best thing she could do for the hanyou was to bring the perpetrator of the bite as soon as possible. Ordinarily, it would be a question whether someone in Sesshoumaru’s position would choose to see their slave when they were ill, but this was Inuyasha and Raia felt confident he wouldn’t waste a second once he knew his little pet was in trouble.

 

The garden was cloaked in darkness, the grass and bushes and plants all silently awaiting the sun. Moonlight bathed the stone arches and stone walkway in its eerie light, reflecting off the white stones, giving the palace an unearthly look. Raia felt the two powerful demons’ steady youki long before she saw the two.

 

Though a servant, Raia had the breeding of someone of better class and it had helped her get to her position as the head of the palace servants. She did not let her face betray the anxiety she felt, but Sesshoumaru, who had known her for many years, noticed her subtly wringing her hands, and the line of her mouth, and knew that something was wrong.

 

He slowed his steps, letting his father walk in ahead of him. Inu no Taisho glanced back once at him, then at Raia and continued on without a word.

 

“What is it?” Sesshoumaru asked.

 

His eyes narrowed as Raia bowed her head and would not meet his eyes.

 

“It’s… Inuyasha, my lord,”

 

Sesshoumaru became very still. “What about him?”

 

Raia took a deep breath. “He collapsed earlier from a high fever. He is at the healer’s.”

 

There was silence for a long moment. When she looked up at him, his eyes were trained on the distance. Raia waited for him to say or do something. A gentle breeze picked up his silver hair, playing with it softly.

 

“My Lord, you must see him immediately,” Raia blurted out, disconcerted by his indifference. She vividly remembered the time the demon Lord had rushed to the then human Inuyasha’s aid in the blink of an eye. And here he was, contemplating kami knew while the hanyou was in severe distress.

 

But golden eyes were flashing when they turned on her, and Raia shivered, her own words ringing back in her ears. She may have known the young prince from his childhood but that did not excuse the severe lack of respect she had just displayed by presuming to order the prince.

 

She bowed her head and let one knee fall to the floor before the other. Though she had managed to school herself out of a servant’s coarse language and intonation and mannerisms, her station was obvious in the hunched bow of her back as she dropped her head to the floor.

 

“I beg my prince’s forgiveness.”

 

Sesshoumaru let her remain bowed as he walked past her into the castle with leisurely steps.

 

“Come,” he ordered without looking back.

 

Startled, Raia clumsily got to her feet and hurried after him.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_This feeling…_

Sesshoumaru allowed his clawed hands to ball into fists at his side as he examined the tight, anxious sensation in his chest.

 

How had he never noticed before? When did this weakness take seed inside of him? All he wanted to do was rush to the hospital wing of the castle and make sure his puppy was alright. When did a pet’s ailments cause his heart and his steps to quicken?

 

The youkai’s words had jarred the uncomfortable realization in him that he had perhaps let the slave become something he hadn’t intended.

 

Behind him, Raia flinched as the young prince’s youki crackled and flared a little, before settling down again.

 

It would not do, Sesshoumaru thought, eyes cold. He would not allow a slave to unravel his iron control. He would rein in these unregulated feelings and be himself again.

 

Purposely, he walked with slow, measured steps towards the hospital wing, giving no indication of his haste by his gait or bearing.

 

“Do the healers know the cause of his ailment?” he asked Raia over his shoulder, who walked a few steps behind him.

 

Raia bit her lip, trying to form a reply that wouldn’t sound accusatory. “Inuyasha’s shoulder… the wound doesn’t seem to be healing…”

 

Sesshoumaru said nothing, and Raia watched him carefully. Her answer didn’t seem to have affected him. But for the small pause in his tread, she could not be sure he had heard her.

 

They walked on in silence towards the hospital wing that was not a little distance away. Raia itched to hurry, to lead him quickly to the boy’s bedside, but she couldn’t walk ahead of him and there was nothing she could say that wouldn’t warrant severe reprimand after her slip up earlier. Watching his leisurely swaying silver hair in front of her, she prayed the hanyou wouldn’t worsen before they got to him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The first sight that greeted Sesshoumaru when he reached the hospital wing was Inuyasha lying on the bed with a wet cloth on his forehead.

 

The hanyou was tossing and turning restlessly, tangling the thin blanket that was pulled over him. The chief healer stood worriedly by his bed while a younger boy sat on a small stool by the hanyou’s bed, adjusting the wet cloth on Inuyasha’s forehead. Sitting on the edge of the bed was the small fox demon Shippo, watching the hanyou anxiously.

 

Inuyasha was the only patient in the large room. It would not be advisable to leave a sick, bleeding hanyou in a room with either humans or youkai.

 

The healer, who was a young human boy with brown hair, looked up at the doorway as he felt the approaching youki.

 

He couldn’t hide a nervous gulp as he saw the white clad demon in his room. He bowed awkwardly and straightened more quickly than correct. He raised the spectacles on his nose purposefully and importantly, trying to avoid those powerful eyes.

 

Sesshoumaru watched the human boy’s incompetence, hiding a sneer. It was difficult to believe sometimes that this boy was Miroku’s descendent. Where his friend had been humble, this boy was egotistical. Where Miroku had had strength, this boy had the pretense of it.  He seemed to have inherited only the monk’s features, and none of his skill or wisdom.

 

He turned his gaze on Inuyasha and the bored look in his eyes was gone. “He is not conscious,” Sesshoumaru murmured to himself, not allowing his face to reflect a single ounce of the panic he was feeling. “Is he ill from an infection?”

 

Miroku’s grandchild, Takao, straightened himself and took a deep breath. “No, my Lord,” he spoke, and inwardly winced at his own too loud voice in the quiet hospital wing. He tried to school his features into impassivity like the demon Lord’s but only succeeded in making himself look pompous and silly.

Sesshoumaru turned an annoyed gaze at him and Takao quailed. “H-he is not ill,” he clarified. “He is poisoned.”

 

Sesshoumaru couldn’t help his eyebrows going up.

 

Takao stepped forward and with steady hands belying his nervousness, he turned back the covers from Inuyasha’s shoulder.

 

He didn’t see the demon Lord’s eyes widening as he saw the bleeding wound.

 

When Takao turned back towards him, Sesshoumaru’s face was expressionless again, though his eyes glittered with an expression Takao could not name.

 

“I presume it is my Lord’s bite,” Takao said gently. Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru could see Shippou glaring at him.

 

“I did not administer poison,” Sesshoumaru said impatiently. “Why has it not healed?” Takao cringed when the warrior prince’s annoyed voice fell on his ears like a slap in the dead silence of the night.

 

But this was the demon Lord’s fault and facing away from him, Takao gritted his teeth, cursing himself for reacting this way to the taiyoukai. He turned back to the demon Lord, frowning.

 

“Is milord sure? Perhaps in…the heat of the moment-” Takao turned slightly red. “My Lord would not have realized-“

 

He trailed off as pissed off golden eyes grew colder. Sesshoumaru did not bother answering.

 

“Then I do not know,” Takao admitted, looking back down at the prone hanyou. “I assumed my Lord would have administered poison, perhaps accidentally and - ”

 

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to strike the stupid boy. He hadn’t _accidentally_ administered poison since he was a child. The training given by Inu no Taisho and the Lady of the West did not allow for weapons to be used _accidentally_. His youkai knew the slave too intimately to consider the boy an enemy, even at its wildest. And even if he _had_ accidentally administered poison, there was no way he would not have realized afterwards.

 

He stared at the suffering hanyou. The incompetent healer clearly did not know how to cure his puppy or he would have done so by now. Only respect for the memory of his friend Miroku kept him from tearing the boy apart with his words and his claws.

 

He walked towards the bed. Takao’s assistants seemed suddenly jolted into action from where they stood, and hastened to bring him a chair. He ignored them and sat down on the bed, next to his puppy.

 

Shippou looked at him in surprise, the demon prince sitting on the hanyou slave’s bed. He hesitated in his place for a moment and then hopped off the bed, coming to stand with Takao’s assistants.

 

Inuyasha gasped and turned towards the demon Lord’s scent with his eyes closed. Sesshoumaru didn’t fail to notice that the hanyou’s throat was chafed from where the leather collar bit into his skin; the hanyou had tied it too tightly. Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed and he reached one hand under Inuyasha’s head, raising it up off the bed.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama, I must advice against it!” Takao gasped. “You must not move him or the poison will spread more quickly-“

 

Sesshoumaru levelled a glare at him that had felled many a lesser youkai. How many times did the idiot need to be told that Inuyasha wasn’t poisoned?

 

The human closed his mouth and stared helplessly at his patient. Sesshoumaru’s other hand was at Inuyasha’s waist and he raised the boy up off the bed to, letting the blankets fall off to inspect the wound more closely.

 

There was no sign of infection. The hanyou’s shoulder wasn’t discoloured or swollen. The wound was raw, as though it were just made, and he could see the muscles in his shoulder and his back straining, somehow affected by whatever was keeping the wound from healing.

 

“Inuyasha,” he said tightening his grip on the hanyou’s neck slightly and Inuyasha opened his eyes.

 

“Master,” he whispered. His face was turned towards the demon Lord but his eyes were glassy.

 

“Where does it hurt, Inuyasha?” the demon Lord asked. Inuyasha’s eyes fluttered. His master’s voice... He tried to focus on the words but his mind wandered and he tossed his head uneasily.

 

“Master… Master Sesshoumaru,” he whispered.

 

“He is not in his senses, my Lord,” Takao said gently, heart going out to the suffering hanyou. “But I can tell you, he is in pain all over…”

 

Sesshoumaru didn’t seem to hear him. He freed one hand from under Inuyasha’s waist and very deliberately pressed two fingers down on the open wound.

 

Inuyasha screamed and would have arched off the bed if Sesshoumaru hadn’t held him down.

 

Shippou took a few steps forward without thinking, and then stopped hesitantly. The assistant boys in the hospital wing had stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the crown prince and his slave. The boy who had been applying the cold cloth to Inuyasha’s forehead sprang back, terrified.

 

Takao stared at the pair in horror, wanting to shout at him to stop. But he knew the boy wasn’t a free subject, and it wasn’t his place to rebuke his prince. The hanyou belonged to the demon Lord, and Sesshoumaru could kill him here and now, and couldn’t be faulted for it.

 

Sesshoumaru ignored the gasps and whimpers from the people in the room to continue what he was doing. He withdrew bloody fingers and pressed down in the area surrounding the wound now. Inuyasha cried out again, and was once more held down by his Master.

 

Shippou did move forward then, latching on to the demon prince’s leg angrily. “L-let go,” he said, voice trembling.

 

He paled as Sesshoumaru looked down at him, but mustered his resolve.

 

“H-haven’t you done enough?” Shippou demanded, through gritted teeth. “Don’t hurt him anymore…”

 

The demon prince kicked out, sending Shippou flying into a nearby wall.

 

“He is mine to do with as I please. Do _not_ interfere,” Sesshoumaru hissed, every syllable laden with fury.

 

The inhabitants of the room shivered; cold, intensely powerful youki permeating the room, and even humans felt its presence, thought they could not understand what it was. Takao and his assistants froze in place where they stood, unable to move a muscle in the face of Sesshoumaru’s anger. Shippou groaned as he tried to sit up against the wall.

 

The room was silent as the demon Lord kept prodding Inuyasha evenly in widening circles around the wound until Inuyasha’s screams had turned into whimpers and he no longer seemed to feel the touch.

 

At last he turned imperious eyes on the horrified healer.

 

“Get me a syringe and a bottle,” he ordered.

 

When Takao stared at him, slack jawed, Sesshoumaru straightened and glared. “ _Now_ ,” he hissed, and the authority in his voice had Takao scrambling to find what he had been ordered to without completely understanding it. Shippou’s eyes widened. He tried to stand up, and fell back with a groan, clutching his ribs.

 

Trembling hands handed over a syringe and a sealed needle to the demon Lord. Sesshoumaru took the items and mounted the needle on the syringe with practiced hands.

 

“Inuyasha,” the demon Lord murmured. The hanyou opened his eyes. “You will not move,” Sesshoumaru ordered. Inuyasha stared at him glassy eyed. The demon Lord’s tone changed into one of implacable command. “You _will not move_. Do you understand?”

 

Inuyasha moaned.

 

The needle glinted in the light of flickering torches and Inuyasha screamed as the demon Lord jammed it in his open wound. Takao and the assistants flinched and averted their eyes, not able to bear the sight of the tortured little slave. A dry sob escaped Shippou as he clenched his teeth, no longer mindful of the throbbing pain in his chest.

 

But the hanyou stayed still.

 

By the time Takao could bear to look again, the needle was withdrawn and the demon Lord was emptying the red contents into the bottle.

 

Inuyasha was breathing harshly now. The cloth had slipped off his forehead and it was beaded with sweat, but the hanyou shivered, unconsciously pulling the thin blanket tightly around him. His knees were drawn up to his chest, as the hanyou tried to curl into a ball and tears slipped through his tightly shut eyes and wet his pillow.

 

Sesshoumaru took hold of the blankets and pulled them off of him. There were clawed hands on curled up knees and the demon Lord forced his legs to straighten.

 

Ignoring the weak protesting noise Takao made, Sesshoumaru once again cradled Inuyasha in his arms and raised him up. All the muscles in Inuyasha’s body seemed to relax suddenly in his master’s grip. His face looked calmer than before as he whispered, “Sesshoumaru-sama…”

 

Sesshoumaru leaned down and licked the wound.

 

Takao and a few assistants gasped in surprise as the demon Lord leaned over the ill slave and unhesitatingly licked the bleeding wound. Inuyasha thrashed a little from the pain and the odd sensation but Sesshoumaru kept him down, immobile. Once, twice, thrice that tongue reached out and licked the raw bleeding wound till Inuyasha’s breathing had evened out and he stopped struggling with an unconscious sigh.

 

Then Sesshoumaru gently laid him back on the bed and pulled the blanket over him. When he stepped back, Inuyasha’s face no longer looked tortured and his breathing didn’t come so harshly anymore.

 

Takao stared from him to the hanyou, frowning. “So it _was_ your poison then…”

 

Sesshoumaru was standing too close to him before the monk had seen him move. Takao sucked in a surprised breath, stumbling back from the looming youkai.

 

The demon Lord’s head was cocked slightly to the side, and silver hair fell over his shoulder like strands of moonlight. “It would serve you well to hold your tongue in matters you do not understand,” Sesshoumaru said quietly. “Lest there be…consequences.”

 

Takao felt a curious sensation of bristling anger mixed with bone-deep terror. He could feel the demon’s youki buzzing with anger. It shouldn’t affect him, how a _demon_ felt. He had trained to be a monk and had exterminated his fair share of youkai on his journeys. He had studied about youkai and taiyoukai and knew that the latter were immensely powerful. But he had seen his grandfather’s power and also knew what monks were capable of.

 

But right now, all he could feel was his heart pounding in fear, blood pumping up to his face, behind his eyes.

 

He had never known that the youkai smelled like thunderstorms and electricity.

 

Sesshoumaru let his gaze sweep over the rest of the people in the room. Even other humans and youkai felt the demon’s powerful youki permeating the air between them and they huddled closer together instinctively. Though Takao’s expression was bland, all the colour had leached from his face and he had an odd look in his eyes.

 

With a final glance at Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru very deliberately stepped away from the terrified Takao, turned on his heel, and left the room.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Takao found that he could breathe properly only once the youkai had left the room.

 

He tried to move towards Inuyasha’s bed, but stumbled unexpectedly as his legs would not support him. He frowned fiercely at himself, but didn’t think about it further as he moved towards his patient.

 

His assistants also all seemed more awake now. The last look that Sesshoumaru-sama had given them clearly said that they would neglect the hanyou at the cost of their lives.

 

Takao felt the hanyou’s forehead. His fever seemed to have broken. If it wasn’t poison that had made the hanyou ill, why had the demon Lord’s ministrations worked? And what, other than poison, could affect a half-demon so badly?

 

His fingers almost went to the collar that was still too tight around the hanyou’s throat. He had been very tempted to remove it, but it wasn’t his place to touch the symbol of ownership of the prince. He had half-hoped the demon Lord would loosen it himself, but the youkai didn’t seem to have cared. Takao knew Inuyasha was being treated better by Sesshoumaru than a hanyou could be expected to be treated anywhere, but it still soured his stomach that the hanyou had to endure these things.

 

But the illness was right now more worrying than his other misfortunes and there was still a chance until sunrise that the hanyou could take a turn for the worse. If he made it through the night, he would be ok.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Sesshoumaru entered the hospital wing just as the sky was turning blue from pink.

                                                              

The healer’s assistants were all wide awake, keeping a close watch on Inuyasha, but Sesshoumaru’s sudden appearance was still a jolt, and they all looked at him fearfully, wondering if they had fallen short in their care in any way that could warrant punishment.

 

Sesshoumaru ignored the others whose scents were suddenly spiked with fear. Takao was sitting at Inuyasha’s bedside, replacing the wet cloth on his forehead himself. His hanyou was sleeping peacefully. Colour had returned to his pale face. Blankets were pulled only till his waist and the exposed wound was on its way to being completely healed.

 

Takao opened his mouth the greet the demon Lord, but Sesshoumaru was gone before he could say a word.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Another day and night later, Inuyasha had fully recovered and was ready to be discharged.

 

Puppy ears flickered happily as Inuyasha sat on the bed while he finished putting on his firerat clothing. The healers had told him what had happened. His Master had rescued him; he had even deigned to clean his wound himself. He felt warm and gooey and squishy in his belly. His Master had saved his life and claimed him all over again.

 

He slid off the bed and got to his feet. Now that he was fully recovered, his body and soul yearned to be near his Master. The lingering weakness from his illness left him feeling raw and vulnerable and he just wanted to be as close to Sesshoumaru-sama as possible, feel his comforting, strong aura, bask in his dominance and possession.

 

But he could not know where his Master was right now. His work took him all over the Western lands, and Inuyasha was not allowed to leave the castle. Inuyasha turned his steps towards his little room. The demon Lord would summon him when he pleased; in the meantime, he would try his best to make up for all the studies and training that he had missed.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

                                                                                          

But soon it was close to midnight and his Master still hadn’t summoned him.  Outside his window, the waning moon rose high in the sky, and a gentle breeze brought in the mingled scent of the flowers in the garden. There was a tight, anxious feeling in his stomach, and Inuyasha put away his books and headed for his Master’s chambers. Maybe the demon Lord was busy and hadn’t remembered that he had been discharged already, Inuyasha thought to himself as his bare feet pattered dully on the stone floors of the corridors that led to his Master’s wing of the castle.

 

He reached his Master’s chambers and the drowsy looking guards blinked at him.

 

“He’s not here,” one of them told him.

 

Inuyasha frowned ferociously at him and walked ahead anyway, pushing the doors open. The guards made no move to stop him; their Lord had instructed them to allow the boy in at any time of day or night. Over the years, they had got used to all the odd hours of day and night the prince summoned his favourite slave, sometimes before he himself returned to his chambers.

 

The chambers were empty like the guards had said. By the scent of the room, he could tell that his master hadn’t been in them in at least a couple of days.

 

When he stepped back out, the guards exchanged looks, surprised at his scent. It was full of pain and panic and other emotions they couldn’t distinguish. They were one of the very few youkai who judged the hanyou on his strength and not his blood, but they felt that even the most stone-hearted amongst them could not help but feel for the harsh Lord Sesshoumaru’s personal plaything.

 

Inuyasha felt tears pricking his eyes uncharacteristically. The guards were looking at him pityingly and he lowered his head to let his bangs cover his eyes. He hadn’t cried in front of others in a long long time; his tears were only for his Master. But he couldn’t help it today.

 

Coming back out into the garden, he looked around helplessly. The serene beauty of the garden seemed to be mocking him now. It wasn’t the first night he had been away from Sesshoumaru-sama, but today, he had an odd feeling of being abandoned.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

There was nothing for it, though, and he had to continue his daily life while he waited for his Master.

 

The next morning, Inuyasha tried his hardest to hear any snippet of his Master’s whereabouts, but couldn’t even catch his name from any of the servants. He discreetly asked Raia if she knew anything, but got nothing in return except a regretful shake of her head.

 

A day passed, and the another and then another. Inuyasha hated how everyone was looking at him, as though he was some weak-ass thing to be pitied. His senses were sharper than everyone thought and more than once, he heard them whispering about how cruel Sesshoumaru-sama was to him.  

 

Inuyasha wanted to shout at them and tell them that it wasn’t like that, that it wasn’t a slave’s place to be privileged to know where and when his Master was away, but there was no point in saying any of it because they wouldn’t understand, and every day that went by, Inuyasha felt smaller and smaller inside his chest.

At night, he kept waking up with sudden starts. He couldn’t remember his dreams but more than once, he found himself sitting straight up in bed, gasping at the waning moon outside his window.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Raia was worried about Inuyasha. Puppy ears had drooped low and Inuyasha had a haunted look in his eyes that was worrying. The head of the servants noted with concern that the hanyou had stopped eating properly. He barely seemed to get hungry and when he did, he ate hardly a few morsels.

 

His training instructor couldn’t understand why his usually enthusiastic, brash student had suddenly become quiet and subdued.

 

The youkai who took up his lessons noted that the hanyou’s heart wasn’t in his studies, and though he seemed to be trying his best, he kept staring off into space suddenly, and didn’t seem to be aware that he was doing it.

 

On the fourth night, Inuyasha once again shot up in bed with a start. Noting that there was nothing there that would startle him, he sighed, muscles relaxing into a slouch. Why… why did this keep happening…

 

It was always difficult to go back to sleep after being woken up like this. Inuyasha punched his pillow lightly to make it more comfortable, gathered his blankets over him and lay down on his side, back to the window. He didn’t want to look at the moon; it reminded him of his Master. Inuyasha closed his eyes, focused on the peace and quiet of the night, and willed sleep to come back.

 

Then there was a loud crash as his window burst open and the glass smashed to bits against his wall. Inuyasha jumped up in bed again, and turned towards the window. His Master was standing before him.

 

The hanyou blinked his eyes rapidly, wondering if this was one of his dreams. But the cold winter wind blowing in from the window was real enough and the broken glass crunching under the demon Lord’s boots as he walked in was real enough too.

 

Inuyasha sat frozen on his bed, watching the demon Lord advance slowly, predatorily on him. His little room seemed tiny in comparison to his Master’s tall, majestic figure. Sesshoumaru-sama had never before entered his room; he was always summoned to his Master’s chambers. Inuyasha had never thought it possible that the prince would condescend to enter the servants’ quarters, that too his slave’s lodgings; it just did not happen. The master of the castle never lowered himself to go to a slave; the slave was summoned whenever and wherever Master desired.

 

But here he was, incandescent in the soft moonlight and pitch darkness. Inuyasha felt a flood of emotions on seeing him that rendered him immobile. Wide golden eyes that were still puppyish in front of his Master, filled with tears.

 

Sesshoumaru frowned fiercely and sat down on his bed. Inuyasha watched him still, hypnotized, until Sesshoumaru reached over and grabbed him by his neck, pulling him close, pressing their lips together.

 

Inuyasha’s eyes widened impossibly. Weak hands came up to his Master’s chest, twitching ineffectually.  His lips were crushed against the youkai’s, his Master’s heady, electric taste on his tongue, and his body was already responding to the assault.

 

Fangs sliced his lower lip casually, ignoring the half-demon’s moan. Sesshoumaru tasted his slave’s blood like it was there for him to enjoy, and Inuyasha shuddered from the sudden pain in the midst of his arousal and his neck crushed in Master’s strong clawed fingers.

 

“Master…M-master…” Inuyasha chanted tearfully, all his fear and abandonment swelling inside him and overflowing. “I’m all yours…yes? I belong to you?”

 

The demon Lord’s lips were on his neck now, and his Master hmmed indifferently in response to his question. Inuyasha gasped when his Master’s tongue darted out and tasted his skin. His pulse beat erratically under his skin, just below those lethal fangs. Inuyasha’s breathing was labored, and his legs twitched, splayed helplessly around his Master.

 

Sesshoumaru felt the movement of the muscles in his slave’s and it drew his attention down, at the swell in his slave’s hakama. A clawed hand reached down and held that swelling erection inside the firerat hakama.

 

Inuyasha was pushed down on the bed on his back and the demon Lord loomed over him, holding him down by his neck, his other hand playing with the prone slave’s cock.

 

Inuyasha tried to turn his head to the side, but the weight on his neck was heavy and his breath came shallow. A clawed hand was playing with his manhood and his Master’s youki was pouring over him, enveloping him, making him heady with the scent of electric power and that hand, oh gods, that hand on his throat, holding him down like he had dreamed so many times in the past few days…his Master was here, owning him, playing with his breath and his life and controlling his pleasure.

 

Tears escaped unchecked from the corners of his eyes and onto his meagre pillow. He could see the demon Lord’s knee on his mattress, the faded white sheets a stark contrast to the demon Lord’s glowing white silk.

 

“Inuyasha…my Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru murmured, seemingly lost in thought.

 

Inuyasha gasped and writhed, trying to focus on his Master’s face but the grip on his neck did not allow it.

 

The hand on his cock pumped leisurely, once, twice. Inuyasha’s body arched with the pleasure, head thrown back as much as the grip on his neck would allow.

 

Sesshoumaru hmmed softly as though he had come to some conclusion. Inuyasha blinked as his Master’s form above him glowed silver. The silver glow turned brighter and brighter till it blinded the hanyou’s eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the room. His breathing became harsh; youki surrounding him grew thicker, implacable and Inuyasha shook from the sensation of such power binding him. The hand around his neck squeezed and Inuyasha lost consciousness as Sesshoumaru transformed them into a ball of energy and sped out the window from whence he had come.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Inuyasha blinked as he became conscious, blood red sheets and steadily burning torches slowing coming into view. He realized they were in Master’s chambers before his brain had fully registered what he was seeing.

 

The muscles in his neck hurt when he moved it. He tried to reach up to touch it and found that he could not move his arms. There was the rattle of chains and Inuyasha looked up to find his hands shackled by the wrist to the bedposts of his Master’s bed.

 

Inuyasha gasped, sitting up. His fire rat haori was undone, hanging on his arms. The white garment he wore underneath it was missing, baring his chest and his hard, sensitive nipples. His lower half was completely naked and his still hard, leaking cock was lewedly exposed to the night air.

 

Sesshoumaru was standing in front of the fireplace, his back to the hanyou. The flames of the fire made his silvery hair glow golden and when he turned, his face was hard and cold and ruthless.

 

Inuyasha gasped, his body reacting to his Master’s pitiless eyes. The demon Lord looked every inch the warrior prince he was, come back victorious from a bloody battle. Trying to keep the blush from his cheeks, Inuyasha reveled in the feeling of being the demon Lord’s prisoner.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 **A/N:** I couldn’t avoid the OC healer, because Miroku and the other humans would all be dead by the time Inuyasha reached this age (the anime says around 200 years passed between Inuyasha being that small child, and the 15-year-old Inuyasha). But he’ll only have a supporting role, and plus, since he’s Miroku’s descendent, he’s not _entirely_ an Original Character, is he?

 

Next chapter: **_Sesshoumaru’s Captive_**

****

Review and tell me what you think ^.^


	5. Sesshoumaru's Prisoner

**A/N:** Thank you to all the readers and reviewers of chapter 4 ^.^ It’s 1.30 am right now, so I’m just going to post the chapter now. I’ll reply to your reviews soon.

 

On to the chappie! >.<

**Chapter 5 – Sesshoumaru’s Prisoner**

 

Sesshoumaru ignored the squirming half demon on his bed, instead examining the buzzing satisfaction his youkai was feeling now that the hanyou was once again within reach.

 

The last three days had been hell. Every second that he was away from the hanyou, his youkai seemed to be in a fit. His patience wore thinner than usual, and he snapped at his men for the slightest slip-up. It had taken all of his willpower to keep himself from finding and capturing his pet.

 

Now, looking at him spread out helplessly in front of him, Sesshoumaru felt an unprecedented urge to push the hanyou down on the bed and mount him, again and again till his youkai was satisfied. It wasn’t lust; he had no qualms in using his little puppy slave to satiate his lust, but this feeling… he could not understand it, and therefore could not allow it.

 

So he mastered his instinct with an iron will, deliberately going near the hanyou, but not touching him, driving his youkai wild.

 

Those pleading puppy eyes were looking up at him with fear and gratitude and adoration like they always did. Inuyasha’s legs were splayed awkwardly as his cock stood hard and almost straight up. The boy was unbearably aroused, and the scent of his arousal and need to submit were making his youkai rear its head inside him, demanding the boy be thoroughly owned. Submission and worship exuded from the hanyou’s every pore, and the way he looked tethered to his bed, kept there for his use…

 

If he listened to his youkai, he would take the slave hard and fill him up with his cum and leave him there for days, dirtied and marked like a bitch, forced to wait there on his bed awaiting his pleasure. He had no doubt the hanyou wouldn’t protest to such treatment; more, he would welcome it, begin to crave it. His youkai was insisting irrationally that that was the hanyou’s true place, bound on the bed, ready for him to mount and master at his whim.

 

The demon Lord approached the head of the bed and sat down next to the captive hanyou. His eyes became cold as he took Inuyasha’s weeping length in his hand and toyed with it.

 

“Ahh…Master…Master please…” Inuyasha begged, arching into his touch. The cool silk of the prince’s kimono brushed against his bare thigh, making him shiver.

 

The youkai Lord backhanded him lightly, controlling the swell of pleasure his youkai felt hearing his captive beg so beautifully.

 

His adorable little puppy looked stunned, and then even more aroused.

 

“M-master… Master Sesshoumaru… please.. please touch me… make me cum… I want to cum..”

 

There were tears in those wide, innocent eyes and one cheek was red from the light slap he had received. The slave knew he wasn’t being punished, and as long as his Master wasn’t angry, he wouldn’t be deterred by pain he was dealt.

 

It pleased him to see every inch of his delectable hanyou exposed inside that red firerat haori, but he refused to get undressed, refused to give his youkai that much control.

 

He noticed his slave’s eyes drawn to the swell in his own hakama. He was as hard and aching as his little hanyou, and he denied himself the pleasure his youkai dangled before his eyes like candy.

 

Inuyasha gasped and tried to think through the haze of lust and arousal that clouded his brain. In all these years, his Master had never bound him like this. He didn’t need to; Inuyasha was always willing and pliant and obedient. Why today? Why now? Was it some kind of a game?

 

But Sesshoumaru-sama didn’t play games. His Master never played pretend; his dominance was stark and obvious and very very real. and that was what was making Inuyasha deliciously frightened and worried.

 

“I want-“ Inuyasha bit his lip, looking down at the demon Lord’s erection, mouth watering as he remembered that beast free of the prison of clothing,  stabbing deep inside of him. “Please… I want to please Master…”

 

Inuyasha gasped as his Master stood up from the bed stepped back. He strained against his binds and the sound of the rattling chains was loud in the quiet night.

 

Sesshoumaru walked up to a closet Inuyasha hadn’t yet seen him open. There were no torches near it and Inuyasha couldn’t see what was inside. His Master seemed to select a few things inside and stepped back towards Inuyasha again.

 

When he returned and took Inuyasha’s cock in his hand again, Inuyasha thought it was to finally grant him release and he almost sobbed with relief.

 

But there was the feel of something metal and Inuyasha looked down in disbelief at the small metal prison around his cock. He looked up and his Master looked pleased.

 

“Try to cum, Inuyasha,” the demon Lord ordered in that deep voice that was at once husky and detached.

 

Inuyasha relaxed the tight walls he had kept over his release and closed his eyes. He didn’t need much now. All he had to do was focus on his Master’s scent and the pain from the bruises on his neck and his Master’s cock and

 

…he couldn’t cum. He looked down at the device around his cock and cried out. His release was being held back by the little device. Try as he might, he couldn’t obtain release.

 

He looked up to see his Master looked pleased. And he had something in his hand Inuyasha had never seen before.

 

It was a long, brown whip with a large, ornate handle. By the way his Master’s fingers closed around it, Inuyasha knew it had been in that hand many times before.

 

The hanyou’s eyes widened as the demon lord brought it down on the rock floor with a sharp crack.

 

“This will be used on you, Inuyasha,” his Master told him. “Are you afraid?”

 

Inuyasha whimpered, eyeing the whip carefully. It wasn’t the first time a whip had been used on him, and it didn’t have very happy memories attached to it. His previous masters had whipped him mercilessly, though usually with much shorter ones. This one looked like a cattle whip, pooling many times over at the demon Lord’s feet. The problem was that it was not to do with strength but accuracy. It couldn’t be aimed well.

 

Inuyasha shut his eyes fearfully, resigning himself to the blows that would invariably land where they willed – on his face, eyes, mouth.

 

But the first strike landed neatly on his exposed stomach, and Inuyasha’s eyes snapped open.

 

Sesshoumaru-sama did not seem angry. There was none of that twisted pleasure he had seen in the eyes of sadistic slavers. The demon Lord’s eyes were cold and calculating.

 

Sesshoumaru brought the whip down on his slave and did not allow the effect on his youkai to show on his face. It felt like a strange blow on himself, somewhere inside him. It took an effort to raise his hand to strike; his youkai was telling him to stop.

 

So he raised his hand and struck out hard again; his submissive, aroused hanyou flinched but didn’t try to hide from the strike. That sweaty, flushed face was lowered in abject surrender and the spike of pleasure his youkai felt from it had him bringing the whip down again on the hapless half-demon.

 

Inuyasha squirmed, trying to get friction on his restrained cock. The whip seemed to be obey his Master’s will and each blow felt precise and calculated. It did not strike his chest or face or cock though his stomach and arms were littered with welts now. His arms shook from the effort of being held up despite the pain. The chains jangled too, in a soft continuous music now.

 

To Inuyasha’s surprise, his Master was breathing slightly hard. His eyes were pulsing red erratically, though no muscle on his face moved. It was not possible that the whip in his hand was causing the demon lord to be winded; Inuyasha had seen him win battles without so much as breathing fast. 

 

“Master,” Inuyasha said worriedly, leaning forward to get a better look at the demon Lord, as much as the chains would allow. “Is Master alright?”

 

Chained up and whipped, forced to hold back his release, after the demon Lord had ignored him as long as it pleased him, the slave was concerned only about him.

 

Sesshoumaru climbed onto the bed. Inuyasha’s legs were caught in a strong grasp and the slave cried out as he was bent almost in half. Sesshoumaru half-raised him off the bed, exposing his twitching hole and thrust himself in, with no lubrication except his precum.

 

Inuyasha threw his head back and screamed as he was taken almost dry. The shackles bit into his wrists as his muscles tensed and were forced to take the weight of his body.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama,” the hanyou panted, trying to breathe through the pain.

 

“Open your eyes, Inuyasha,” the demon Lord said.

 

The hanyou’s eyes snapped open and focused on his Master.

 

“Keep them open,” Sesshoumaru commanded. Inuyasha nodded and tried his best to obey.

 

The demon Lord pulled half way out and then slammed back in again, grinding hard into the abused hole. The hard cock brushed his prostate, but the prison around his own cock didn’t allow him to cum.

 

Inuyasha thrashed his head, unable to withstand the frustration.

 

“Master, master please… please let me come… it hurts… please, Master…”

 

His youkai wasn’t protesting to this, Sesshoumaru realized. Once again, the hanyou was in pain. In fact, he was in more pain than mere whip lashes, but his youkai seemed satisfied.

 

But there was no more time for thinking as the demon Lord was nearing his own release. He hiked the slave’s legs up higher and began thrusting in hard and fast. His eyes were red as he snarled his release.

 

* * *

 

 

Inuyasha realized he must have passed out, because when he opened his eyes, gentle morning sunlight was streaming in through the parted curtains on the windows.

 

His face turned red as he looked down at the cum leaking from his hole. His legs twitched helplessly; his arms were still shackled and he could not clean it up.

 

Inuyasha blinked the sleep from his eyes and focused on the figures of female servants bustling about the room, cleaning it, and tending to the fire.

 

The hanyou turned bright red. He was still chained to his Master’s bed, and his still half-erect cock was trapped in the device, in full view of the servants. Oh god, they had probably seen the cum leaking out of his hole, seen him left here marked as his Master’s cum dump. And the worst part was that his humiliating thoughts were making his half-hard cock harder.

 

To their credit, they didn’t stare. The girl tending the fire, glanced up for a moment when she saw Inuyasha move, but she looked away without any kind of reaction on her face. The hanyou and the bed were left untouched as the servants efficiently completed their morning routine and discreetly left the room.

 

Inuyasha stared after them at the now closed doors and wondered how long he would have to wait here like this for Lord Sesshoumaru.

 

 

By afternoon, when there was no sign of the demon Lord, Inuyasha began to wonder uneasily if his Master had forgotten he’d left his pet waiting. The Western Lord had villas all over town, though he rarely used them. What if he decided to spend the night in one of those? There was nothing Inuyasha could do but wait for him, shackled to the bed.

 

Inuyasha squirmed. Somehow, the thought was arousing more than worrying. His arms and wrists were sore from being shackled to the bedpost all night and his traitorous cock hardened whenever he thought of his Master and the thorough fucking he had received the night before. There was a dull, throbbing pain in his ass, and his inner thighs were embarrassingly sticky from being coated in his Master’s cum.

 

But it was barely sunset before the great doors to the chambers crashed open, making Inuyasha jump. The cringing guards caught just a peek of the naked hanyou chained up on the bed before Sesshoumaru slammed the doors closed in their red faces.

 

Inuyasha watched the demon stride over to the bed. He looked…angry?

 

But there was no time to think or speak as the demon Lord was quickly unsnapping the shackles. Inuyasha sagged against the headboard as he was suddenly released. He tried to massage some feeling back into his numb hands and wrist, while Sesshoumaru removed the leather device that was holding back Inuyasha’s pleasure.

 

Inuyasha hardly had time to take a relieved breath before the demon Lord was on him, pushing him down onto the bed, kissing him viciously.

 

Inuyasha submitted gratefully, kissing his Master back with equal fervor. He wound his sore, shaking arms around the youkai, trying to pull him closer.

 

Before long, Inuyasha was being turned over and the hanyou hissed from the cold lubricant being pored over his aching hole. Sesshoumaru snarled as he entered him in one powerful thrust, spearing himself inside his slave.

 

Inuyasha cried out, hiking his ass up to meet his Master’s thrusts. It hurt.. it hurt more than last night, but his Master was here, and he would pleasure him the best he could. The demon lord’s clawed hand wrapped around the back of his neck, pushing his face into the bed, and Inuyasha gasped from the pressure and weight on his neck. The demon Lord’s other hand grasped his slave’s weeping length and Inuyasha was almost sobbing from the pleasure, held down and imprisoned by his Master.

 

When Sesshoumaru finally came and collapsed next to him, he tried to move, tried to get up to gather his things and leave like he usually did when he was conscious after being used by his Master. But he was pulled down and held firmly in the demon prince’s arms. Breathing in the intoxicating scent surrounding him, Inuyasha slept.

 

* * *

 

Next morning, when he woke up, Sesshoumaru was still there. Judging by the sun high in the sky it was already late morning but the demon Lord was sleeping peacefully.

 

Inuyasha squirmed, body demanding that he get up and take care of its urges. He wriggled out of the demon lord’s embrace and managed to sit up. He was about to slip away towards the bathroom without waking the demon Lord when his wrist was caught in an iron grip.

 

Inuyasha turned back with a gasp. Sesshoumaru’s eyes were still closed and his breathing was still even. He could have been sleeping except for the slight smirk on his lips.

 

“O-ohayou gozaimsu, Master,” Inuyasha muttered. The demon lord didn’t answer or open his eyes. Inuyasha tried to free his wrist from the demon Lord’s grip, but Sesshoumaru held fast.

 

“M-master please I have to go…” Inuyasha murmured, still trying to gently shake off the grip on his wrist.

 

“Go where?” the demon Lord murmured, turning his head slightly towards Inuyasha and opening half-lidded eyes towards his squirming puppy.

 

Inuyasha flamed deep red knowing fully well that his sadistic Master knew exactly what he was talking about but was enjoying his humiliation.

 

“Master,” Inuyasha whined, avoiding his Master’s beautiful, indolent, sleepy eyes.

 

A small cry escaped him as his wrist was twisted slightly to make him fall chest first on top of the sleeping lord. Inuyasha braced himself awkwardly with his other hand on the bed, as his Master callously moved him as he pleased to comfortably kiss him without having to rise up from the bed. Inuyasha submitted to the deep, lazy kiss, though uncomfortably sprawled on top of his lazy master.

 

“Ma-master please,” he whispered once he was released, wriggling his hips uncomfortably.

 

Blushing bright red at the laughter in the demon Lord’s eyes, he tried to cover his nakedness with a blanket but found it impossible to do that in the position in which he’d been place.

 

“Go,” Sesshoumaru said, releasing his wrist. Inuyasha scrambled to get out of bed hastily before the demon Lord changed his mind. Sesshoumaru’s eyes fell closed with a smile as he felt his puppy rush off the bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Inuyasha felt his spirits soar to the sky as he walked the bright palace grounds. Sesshoumaru-sama… His Master had ordered him to get all his things to his chambers! That meant he would get to spend so much more time with his Master!

 

It had been so many years since he had outgrown his little puppy basket. That was about the time his education and training had really begun. He wondered whether his education and training would be continued, or whether he would spend his days attending to his Master’s needs. He was fine with either, though it would mean he would be left with a lot of free time on his hands when his Master was away on administrative business. But on the other hand, it meant he would be with his Master every morning and every night, and that would be better than any amount of education or training.

 

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw Shippou walking by in the corridor opposite the courtyard. Inuyasha swiftly strode towards him.

 

Ever since that night, Shippou had not spoken to him properly. Inuyasha had been concerned by the injury on his chest, but when he asked how he got it, the fox would not answer. Well, that was going to end here and now.

 

“Shippou!” he called out, forcing the fox to acknowledge him.

 

Shippou stopped but didn’t look at him.

 

“Hey,” Inuyasha frowned, bending down to look at the tiny fox demon properly. “What’s the matter with you?

 

“Leave me alone, Inuyasha,” Shippou said, bypassing the hanyou to walk away.

 

He squeaked as he was picked up by his tail and dangled in front of Inuyasha’s face.

 

“Hey I’m trying to talk to you here, idiot,” Inuyasha reprimanded, glaring at the fox flailing his arms.

 

“Let go of me!” Shippou demanded, glaring back, trying to be within biting reach of the half-demon.

 

“Not until you tell me what’s got you acting like an ass!” Inuyasha answered.

 

Shippou bristled. “Fine! You wanna talk, let’s talk!”

 

Inuyasha released his tail and the fox hopped onto a nearby stone shelf so he could be at eyelevel with the hanyou.

 

“You wanted to know where I got the injury, right?” Shippou demanded. “I got it from Sesshoumaru-sama when I tried to stop him from hurting you while you were ill!”

 

Inuyasha drew back in surprise. “You… tried to stop Sesshoumaru-sama?”

 

Shippou looked away, refusing to meet the hanyou’s eyes.

 

The hanyou’s eyes softened as he looked pityingly at his still blue chest visible. “Shippou… why would you do that…”

 

“Well I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do, alright?” Shippou exclaimed. “Am I supposed to let my friend be hurt like that?”

 

“Shippou…” Inuyasha said. “Sesshoumaru-sama can do whatever he likes to me…”

 

“But it’s not right!” Shippou exclaimed. “Just because you’re- you’re a half-demon and he’s a taiyoukai, doesn’t make it ok to treat you like that! To think that you’ve been treated like this ever since you were a little kid…”

 

Inuyasha frowned. “Sesshoumaru-sama has treated me with more kindness than anyone I’ve ever known.”

 

Against his will, tears formed in Shippou’s eyes. “That’s just it! If it hadn’t been for Sesshoumaru-sama enslaving you, your life could have been so much more…”

 

“My life would have been nothing,” Inuyasha said. “Sesshoumaru-sama saved me and protected me and allowed me to belong to him when he certainly didn’t have to…”

 

“But he’s cruel! He hurts you!”

 

Inuyasha looked away. How to explain to Shippou that he liked the way his Master treated him? How could he explain to the agitated boy that there was no greater pleasure than offering his body for Master’s use?

 

“He could have treated you with kindness!” Shippou continued. “As an equal!”

 

Inuyasha gaped at him. “But I’m not his equal! Not by any means, not even remotely close!”

 

Shippou gritted his teeth; he felt like banging his head against the wall. “Just because you were not born with his strength or status or power, doesn’t make you any less!”

 

“Strength and status and power have got nothing to do with anything, fox,” Inuyasha explained, exasperated. “Do you not get that I don’t deserve all that Sesshoumaru-sama does for me? I don’t deserve to be allowed to serve him. He’s so far above me, I’m not fit to lick his boots clean!”

 

Shippou stared up at him, speechless. Then he looked away and smiled bitterly. “I’m going away, Inuyasha,” he said softly.

 

Inuyasha drew back at the sudden change in the fox’s demeanor.

 

“What?”

 

“I can’t take this,” Shippou whispered. “I can’t stay here in this place where someone is treated like this just because they’re weak or low born…”

 

Inuyasha looked at him quietly for a moment.

 

“I’m not weak,” told the fox demon. “And Master Sesshoumaru doesn’t treat me the way he does because I’m weak or a hanyou.”

 

He grabbed the fox by his shoulders and turned him around to face him. “Shippou, it’s because I belong to him.”

 

When the fox looked blankly, angrily up at him, Inuyasha understood that he was not going to be able to make Shippou understand. He straightened up and turned away from him.

 

“Go,” he said softly. “And when you come back, I hope you realize what it really means to be equals.”

 

Shippou’s fingers balled up into fists. “I’m never coming back!”

 

Inuyasha smiled, and for the first time, Shippou thought he looked much older than his age. “You will,” Inuyasha said, and walked away.

 

* * *

 

 **A/N:** I’d love to hear what you think! ^.^

 

Also, I’ve published my very first quiz on another website – The brutally honest What Kind of Master Are You? quiz. It’s for all you lemon BDSM lovers out there ~.^ Just look for LordYouko on the website called Quotev.

 

And today’s my birthday ^.^ posting a chapter on my birthday after a long time. I’m happy to be back! Thanks for sticking with me, everyone!

 

 

 


	6. To The Demon Mountain

**Chapter 6 – To The Demon Mountain**

_“…if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.”_

  
― [ **Yann Martel**](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/811.Yann_Martel), [ **Life of Pi**](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1392700)

Winter in Japan was short that year, but brutal. It seemed to Inuyasha that the Western castle was already immersed in snow before anyone quite realized that it had grown chilly. And the snow was already melting before February had properly set in.

 

Weak morning sunlight fell on Inuyasha’s packed trunks standing ready in the large, severe room. It was uncharacteristically bare of any luxurious furniture, and the tall columns and walls seemed to be made entirely out of some white marble with beautiful streaks of other colours.

 

Inuyasha watched the soldiers running drills from his window, a steaming cup of hot cocoa in his hands. Shippou had left the Western castle not long after their conversation, and Inuyasha hoped he was alright, and that he had found a warm place in the winter. He wasn’t too worried; the kid was resourceful. But it was still a harsh world out there, and he didn’t know if Shippou had had any kind of plan when he left.

 

Glancing occasionally at the rather large iron trunks, lined with leather, Inuyasha wondered how long their journey would be, and exactly what his Master had ordered to be packed that took up that much space. All of Inuyasha’s prize possessions, he was wearing – his sword and his fire-rat robes.

 

Inuyasha had never travelled with trunks before. According to him, all he required was a change of underclothes and maybe a toothbrush. But Sesshoumaru-sama had sounded very mysterious when he had told him that this was not like the trips they had been on before, and that he would need many things.

 

Granted, the only trips Inuyasha had been on with his Master were mostly in the middle of a war, or a place where there was a high chance of a war breaking out. There was hardly the question of carrying unnecessary things when going to battle. And when he had travelled with the slavers, he was lucky to get clothes on his back, let alone a change. But Inuyasha could not see why a visit to Hiten and Manten would require so much.

 

There was a loud _thud_ and Inuyasha turned around to see three servants walking in with large, silver trunks lined with leather belts through iron hoops. The three hunched little demons, who hardly came up to Inuyasha’s waist now, were stumbling under the weight of the luggage, but trying to set it down as gently as possible; two had succeeded, one had not.

 

There was the sound of quiet footsteps and the servants cringed and bowed, as a white hakama and black boots came into view.

 

Sesshoumaru ignored the offending servant as he walked towards the window where Inuyasha was dropping to his knees. Behind him, Inuyasha saw Raia walk in with more servants, carrying more luggage. The little demon who had dropped a trunk flinched as Raia gave him a flat, level look that promised punishment later.

 

“That’s all of it, my Lord,” Raia said, dismissing some of the servants with a gesture. “Will there be anything else?”

 

“You may go,” Sesshoumaru told her, and she bowed and exited, the rest of the servants following her.

 

Inuyasha rose to his feet with a gesture from the demon Lord. Sesshoumaru stood close behind him, combing one clawed hand through his long, messy white hair.

 

“Good morning, Master,” Inuyasha breathed, breath hitching from his Master’s closeness and his scent all around him.

 

“Good morning,” he responded quietly, still playing with the slave’s hair, pushing it over one shoulder to expose the hanyou’s collared neck. “Did you sleep at all in the night?”

 

Inuyasha felt his face flame, and he looked away, avoiding his Master’s eyes. Of course he would know, he had been sleeping right next to him, in the same bed. Of course he knew Inuyasha hadn’t slept a wink in anticipation of the journey.

 

But maybe he’d been hoping a little that the demon Lord would have been too fast asleep to notice.

 

“Master Sesshoumaru!” came a squawking voice from the doorway, and Jaken hurried in followed by a large, well-muscled demon who was looking embarrassed and worried.

 

“Master Sesshoumaru, this _idiot_ says that we won’t be travelling with my lord, and that my Lord will be travelling alone without an entourage.” He said the words as though they were the strangest words he’d ever uttered.

 

“He is correct,” Sesshoumaru told him calmly, watching Inuyasha adjust his hair back in place out of the corner of his eye.

 

Jaken looked horrified. “But – but, my lord! It is a long and arduous journey, fraught with perils, especially by land. My lord cannot think of going alone –”

 

“Listen, you little toad,” Inuyasha bristled. “Sesshoumaru-sama has undertaken harder journeys than that without needing a fucking _entourage_ –”

 

“Your journey will take you through _the forest_ ,” Jaken cut him off sharply. “Do you even have any idea what that means? My master will be travelling through the most dangerous forest in this part of the world alone, without anyone to guard him-”

 

“I won’t be alone,” Sesshoumaru interrupted them both, amused. “Inuyasha will be with me.”

 

Jaken looked like he’d been hit on the head with a shoe. “I-Inuyasha gets to go with you? And I -?”

 

“You will be arriving at the Southern palace ahead of us with the other servants and the luggage,” Sesshoumaru said.

 

It wasn’t the humiliation of being treated like a servant that he minded so much, as the shit-eating grin on Inuyasha’s face.

 

Jaken looked rebelliously from Inuyasha’s face to the prince’s. “But- my Lord,” he said, waving his hands passionately. “Why not allow some of us to wait on you during the travels-”

 

Suddenly, the demon Lord met his eyes, and Jaken stopped short. “Because I have some business in the forest, and travelling with a crowd would be… inconvenient.”

 

When he broke his Master’s gaze, Jaken bowed low, and stood silent. Inuyasha stared at him startled, and then exchanged looks with the big servant; he seemed as clueless as to what had just happened as Inuyasha.

 

Sesshoumaru had alluded to someone he wanted to meet in the forest. When he asked about that, Inuyasha didn’t get an answer, and he didn’t insist. But it annoyed him that Jaken seemed to understand what he meant.

 

Jaken had become a solid part of the household of the Western Lord. After getting over the initial rude shock of suddenly having to adjust to the life of a servant when he’d been a ruler all his life, Jaken had become a surprising aide to Sesshoumaru. Despite his many annoying habits, the demon was a shrewd strategist and very knowledgeable in many things. While not many in the palace could stand the obnoxious little demon, Sesshoumaru did not seem to mind. In fact, he was one of the few people Sesshoumaru could tolerate when he was in one of his dark moods, and the toad demon was one of the few who braved his wrath.

 

Now, he was not quite a regular servant, but not a high-level advisor either, and the little demon was secretly glad for that. He missed the comforts and luxuries of his old life, but not having to pretend and hold back every single minute of every day was an unbelievable relief.

 

He had mostly got over his jealousy of Inuyasha, and though he would never admit it under any circumstances, he even held some affection towards the spunky, foolhardy hanyou. But the two still clashed horns whenever they were in close proximity, something that seemed to amuse their Master immensely. The loud-mouthed toad had definitely been one of the influences responsible for Inuyasha’s brash tongue, though Sesshoumaru knew that Inuyasha had picked up the swearing from the other servants; loud mouthed and obnoxious though he may be, Jaken had the upbringing of a royal, and did not look well upon swearing.

 

Having grown up around Kouga, Sesshoumaru was not one to mind swearing, and Inuyasha’s colourful vocabulary was definitely entertaining when the hanyou didn’t know or forgot that he was being overheard.

 

Inuyasha knew Jaken and Sesshoumaru had discussed the details of the meeting at length. It turned out that Jaken already knew a lot about the thunder brothers. Inuyasha found himself lost when they talked about it, not knowing more about them than when he’d met them. It was good to know that his Master had neglected to discuss the journey leading up to the meeting with the toad.

 

“We are all leaving together?” Inuyasha asked, looking from Jaken to his Master to the luggage.

 

“We will be taking the carriage as far as the border,” Sesshoumaru said, glancing briefly at the muscular servant to make sure he was making a note of this. “Then, Jaken will take the longer route and go on towards the Mountain, with the luggage and the servants, and you and I will be go straight through the forest.”

 

“The castle is on a mountain?” Inuyasha asked. The burly servant was nodding mechanically, and his lips were moving silently as he tried to memorize what the prince said.

 

“The Southern castle is on what the surrounding humans have come to call The Demon Mountain,” Jaken replied. “It is rumored that Hiten’s grandfather practiced terrible dark magic, and bound the mountain itself to his blood; it is said that his father – and now, presumably, Hiten – controls the very air on the mountain. It has served as a mighty deterrent to war-hungry kings; they don’t dare try and take the castle by force, lest Hiten brings it crashing down, killing everyone on the mountain.”

 

“It remains to be seen how much truth there is in the rumours,” Sesshoumaru said.

 

“It is true, Milord!” Jaken exclaimed. “The ancient Gods took away the prosperity of the land as a price for the old demon’s impudence in practicing forbidden magic, and forever cursed the mountain.”

 

“That’d explain the crazy duo,” Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

 

“As long as Hiten and Manten rule from atop that mountain,” Jaken continued as if he hadn’t heard, “the land of the South will never know joy or fulfilment.”

 

“We will see,” Sesshoumaru replied, turning away from the toad.

 

A small scuffle ensued behind his back as Jaken tried to step ahead of Inuyasha in following the demon Lord, and Inuyasha caught hold of him and began to stretch him like a toy. The scandalized big servant tried to stop them before they made Lord Sesshoumaru angry, and it only ended when Jaken quietly hit the opposite wall, cross-eyed.

 

“Make sure you don’t lose our stuff, Jaken,” Inuyasha said, sticking his tongue out smugly at the toad demon.

 

“Make sure you don’t get eaten by a dragon, Inuyasha,” Jaken responded, coming to his senses to glare at the annoying hanyou.

 

“Dragon? There are dragons in the forest?” Inuyasha asked, alarmed, looking from Jaken to Sesshoumaru.

 

But the demon Lord was already walking out the door, and Inuyasha, Jaken and the servant hurried to catch up.

 

“Don’t worry, Inuyasha-san,” the muscular servant whispered to Inuyasha as he deliberately fell back to create some distance between themselves and the other two. “I’m sure Jaken-san was exaggerating.”

 

Inuyasha nodded, tensed shoulders relaxing a little. Dragons were creatures of myths and legends; they weren’t all that common. Many people doubted they even existed, but Inuyasha was sure he had seen one when he was a small kid, and though he firmly believed they were real, he had no desire to ever see the ferocious creatures again.

 

“Yeah, he was exaggerating,” Inuyasha murmured to himself.

 

Ahead of them, Sesshoumaru smirked to himself.

 

* * *

 

 

Outside, Lady Tsukiko and Inu no Taisho were waiting at the first gates to see Sesshoumaru off. Long hours had already been spent with their son, discussing the finer points of the upcoming meeting in grueling detail, so there wasn’t much left to be said.

 

“Sesshoumaru, this is your first time representing the Western Lands at this convention,” Inu no Taisho said.

 

“My first time alone,” Sesshoumaru assented, remembering all those times the Lord or Lady of the West had taken him along as a minor. These meetings were not easily forgettable; for a prince who had grown up in a far more just and civilized household than was common throughout the world, the way other demons lived their lives was stamped into his mind even as he returned home and proceeded to be tutored in the customs of the world.

 

“Remember, diplomacy will untangle a thousand problems where a sword may only solve one,” Inu no Taisho said. Sesshoumaru remained silent, remembering more than one heads that had rolled at one of these conventions.

 

“Although, I doubt Kouga knows the meaning of the word diplomacy,” Inu no Taisho muttered under his breath.

 

“Come now, the boys are all grown up,” Lady Tsukiko said, amused. “I expect the wolf will fill his father’s shoes capably, just as we expect Sesshoumaru here won’t bring the mountain down.”

 

Inu no Taisho glanced up into Sesshoumaru’s eyes, alarmed. “That is _not_ a suggestion.”

 

“But don’t let your guard down,” Tsukiko reminded him, even as Sesshoumaru blinked at his father innocently. “The strongest demons in the world will be at this place and help will be oceans away if things go foul, so make sure you don’t put yourself in a position where you need it.”

 

Standing behind him with his head respectfully bowed and eyes trained on the ground, Inuyasha’s puppy ears swiveled interestedly. A convention? The strongest demons in the world? All he had heard about this was that they would be going to Hiten and Manten’s castle.

 

He let his eyes wander towards their vehicles.

 

Three carts stood ready next to Sesshoumaru’s carriage. One was piled high with luggage, and a young demon boy sat beside it with a staff, ready to hold on to it in case it looked like it might fall. By the little horns atop his head, Inuyasha guessed he was something like a goat demon, not yet fully into adolescence, but still well-muscled.

 

The other two carts were filled with servants. Inuyasha marveled at the number of servants that were going. Most of them were young, but more intelligent-looking than Inuyasha knew a lot of the castle servants were. A few of them he was slightly acquainted with, a lot of them he had never seen at all. They sat erect and alert in the cart, not chattering like Inuyasha knew most servants were wont to do when left together by themselves. A few of the servants were demons of Raia’s age or older; again, sitting with quiet dignity. There were no human servants among the lot.

 

Soon, the carts were loaded and Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were settled into the carriage. Two of the strongest of demon horses were tethered to each of the vehicles. Skilled drivers took their place at the helm of the vehicles, and they were off.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The borders of the Western kingdom towards the South lay a moon’s cycle away by vehicle. Every few days, they stopped for a night at an inn to get freshened up and to rest the horses. Their visit caused a small commotion at each place as innkeepers scurried to provide lodging for such a large party along with the prince of the land. Each time, the servants filed out of the cart with impeccable discipline, and quietly retired to the quarters that were allotted to them for the night. Inuyasha heard almost no sound out of anyone except Jaken, whom the servants seemed to have unconsciously accepted as their superior, and they sometimes let him boss them around.

 

It was Inuyasha’s first time seeing this far into the kingdom of the West, and the it surprised him how different people were in all the various parts where they had stopped.

 

Most of the innkeepers glanced at him with ill-concealed disgust, but Sesshoumaru’s insignia on the collar around his neck kept them from voicing their feelings on a hanyou entering their establishment. In a few places, Inuyasha found hanyou working as servants in the inn; they went about their work unobtrusively, and they didn’t seem to be being mistreated.

 

In some of the more inaccessible parts that the driver took them through to try and shorten their journey, some people didn’t seem to even know who Sesshoumaru-sama was, and the demon prince didn’t sometimes let them know until the very moment when they were ready to depart. Jaken and Inuyasha both didn’t understand the point of this, but they kept silent after the first time Jaken indignantly opened his mouth to declare just what guests the privileged innkeeper had the good fortune of entertaining, and the demon prince knocked him out cold before he could get a word out.

 

The last place they stopped at was three days away from the edges of the forest. It was a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere - one of the places where the innkeeper and his family did not seem to know that they were entertaining royalty. Sesshoumaru’s clothing and imperious demeanor demanded deference, but no one at the quaint little inn seemed to have any idea whose kingdom they were a part of, much less being aware of the fact that the prince of the land was now staying in their establishment. 

 

Late at night, after dinner was had and most of the respectable clients of the inn had retired, and Inuyasha had been given permission to explore the place as he chose, Inuyasha found himself eavesdropping on a conversation between the barman at the inn and one of the shadier guests.

 

“-planning to go into the forest,” the barkeeper was whispering to the guest, a cleaning rag and a glass in his hand. “Dunno if they’re that brave or that stupid.”

 

“The latter for sure,” the man sniggered, taking a sloppy sip of his drink. “Don’t they know that not many that go into that forest come back out?”

 

“And if they do, they’re never the same. We told them,” the barman sighed irritably.

 

“Pity about the butcher’s daughter, innit?” the guest shook his head, taking another large sip of his drink. “The prettiest lass as far as the eye can see, and gone completely loco to boot.”

 

“Poor lass hasn’t spoken a word yet, has she?” the barman asked, still polishing that one glass compulsively.

 

“Not one anyone can make any sense out of,” the guest grumbled. “But you can’t really blame her. Braver men than her have lost their tongue and their senses out in that devil forest. Someone should really do something about it.”

 

The barman shrugged. “It isn’t anyone’s problem.”

 

Inuyasha didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as he felt Jaken approaching from behind. Before the toad could give away that he’d been listening, Inuyasha hastily retreated into the lobby.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“So, the forest is across the Western border? It falls in Hiten and Manten’s territory?” Inuyasha asked Jaken once they were outside and out of earshot of the gossipy barman.

 

“The forest IS the border,” Jaken answered, folding his arms into his sleeves, looking up at the rising crescent moon which, even now, looked more foreboding than when they had left the Western lands. “No ruler has claimed the forest as it houses most sinister creatures and spirits that obey the rule of no man or God. Neither the Lord Inu no Taisho, not Hiten holds any power over the land, and it is just as well. The vast, untraversable area provides a good buffer and prevents border dispute.”

 

Inuyasha had, a long time ago, stopped asking how and why Jaken knew things. The toad demon had vast - and to Inuyasha, unnecessary – information about the world that did not seem to easily fall under a category or fulfill a requirement.

 

“Great,” Inuyasha muttered to himself. The forests he’d travelled through with the slavers hadn’t been nearly that dangerous, but they still weren’t nice places, and to be honest, he wasn’t looking forward to going through this one.

 

But he wouldn’t think about that. Whatever had happened, had happened a long time ago, in a different lifetime, before his Master claimed him. It didn’t make sense to dwell on it.

 

“I wonder if Sesshoumaru-sama knows how dangerous it is,” Jaken said.

 

Inuyasha glared down at the toad demon. “I’m sure Master knows what he’s doing.”

 

Jaken didn’t seem to notice the glower; he smiled serenely up at the moon. “Maybe that’s why he’s taking _you_ along – so that he doesn’t have to worry about demons eating any of his _important_ staff.”

 

There was a quiet thud in the night as Inuyasha boinked him on the head.

 

* * *

 

Three days and nights later, it was just past dawn when they reached the edge of the forest, and it was time to part ways with the servants.

 

The horses had got more and more agitated as they approached the forest, and by the time the demon Lord and his slave had disembarked, the drivers had to exert considerable efforts to keep the horses from bolting.

 

Jaken jumped down from the cart and slowly approached the forest. It was fascinating to be in the presence of something that was almost a legend to him during his studies. He longed to step onto the accursed land himself and experience what so many blubbering, terror-struck travelers had tried to describe, although he was glad he wouldn’t actually be trying to go _through_ the forest to the other side.

 

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Jaken whirled around. “Don’t stand there looking like a fool, get Master Sesshoumaru’s things,” Jaken squawked at the same muscular servant from the morning, gesturing towards the cart where the demon Lord’s silver luggage was piled.

 

The servant glanced fearfully at the demon prince and bowed to Jaken in apology. “B-but Master Sesshoumaru’s commands are to take the luggage straight to the Southern palace.”

 

Jaken turned to stare incredulously at the demon Lord. Sesshoumaru blinked back at him languidly.

 

Jaken swallowed, wondering how to frame his remarks so as not get his head chopped off immediately. “My Lord, a forest – especially this forest – is harsh. At least allow Inuyasha to carry some things for you...tents for sleeping and the like, if nothing else.”

 

Inuyasha remained silent, but he secretly agreed with the toad. He hadn’t dared speak about it to his Master, but he hadn’t ever known the demon Lord to journey on foot before. Everywhere they had travelled, they had either gone in a vehicle, or Sesshoumaru-sama had travelled as a ball of energy. Inuyasha didn’t want the prince to go through the small embarrassments that foot travel through uncivilized terrains entailed.

 

“I believe we will make do,” Sesshoumaru replied with that look in his eyes that said that he was amused by a joke that no one else was seeing.

 

Jaken bowed, and stayed silent.

 

“It looks normal,” Inuyasha murmured, looking up at the serene trees swaying gently. Sunlight fell serenely on the clearing where they had stopped. The morning was filled with the cheerful sounds of birds chirping. A heavy sense of apprehension was settling over Inuyasha. Now that he could smell the forest air through the trees, his memories were suddenly much more real. What did it matter, really, whether the forest was cursed or not? He felt like the little kid who had crossed forests while the slavers held his leash, tugging and pulling him to their amusement. He remembered how many times he had narrowly escaped becoming some animal or demon’s food.

 

“Jaken has been telling you tales, it seems,” Sesshoumaru said in that smooth baritone that Jaken had by now learned to fear. The toad demon flinched and did not meet the demon prince’s eyes, knowing he was treading on very thin ice now. He would have blamed the hanyou if he hadn’t known of the demon Lord’s uncanny ability to glean volumes from seemingly typical statements.

 

“Forgive me,” he bowed low on the leaf-strewn ground, tensing against the inevitable blow to his head.

 

When some ants scurried by his feet, and the blow still didn’t come, he risked glancing up to see Sesshoumaru-sama’s attention elsewhere. Jaken got to his feet with a sigh and a crunch of leaves, knowing his punishment was only postponed for a later date.

 

The clearing past which the forest began hadn’t been easy to get to. They had to take some winding roads that were barely wide enough for a carriage to go through. Ahead of the clearing was the forest, and on the other side was another narrow winding road that led around it to the Southern kingdom.

 

The carts and the now empty carriage were pointed towards that road, and when Sesshoumaru gestured for the drivers to be on their way, they took their seats at the front of the carts and grabbed the reins.

 

Jaken scrambled back into the servants’ cart before the powerful horses took off without him.

 

“Be careful, Master,” the toad demon called as the cart pulled away. Behind Sesshoumaru’s back, Inuyasha made a rude gesture at Jaken, knowing the toad wouldn’t be able to reciprocate in front of their Master. The livid toad jumping up and down in the cart was the last they saw of their retinue.

 

* * *

 

It was harder to step into the forest than Inuyasha had expected.

 

He hadn’t thought about his travels with slavers in years. Nothing in his new life had stirred those memories, and in Lord Sesshoumaru’s company, he had had no occasion to travel by foot.

 

Inuyasha thought that if he could steel himself to take that first step, his fear would gradually fall away.

 

So he did. He took the first step, and the second, and the fifth, and the feeling of fear only grew. He had never travelled through this particular forest before; the tree trunks and leaves before his eyes were not the ones from his memories. And yet, when he blinked, the green faded into the other greens he had passed through as a young child. Every swaying tree branch, every shadow cast on the forest ground reminded him of travelling at the end of the slavers’ leash, stumbling blindly over roots on bare feet, the slavers’ laughter when he cried out from the fear of things crawling under his feet and red eyes in the darkness.

 

And this was no ordinary forest either. They had gone no more than a few yards, when Inuyasha felt the atmosphere shift.

 

The sounds of birds chirping was abruptly muffled, as if coming from far away, and the air grew unexpectedly stifling, though they weren’t deep into the forest at all, and they could still see the sky between the tops of the trees.

 

The sun was at once, too strong, and there wasn’t enough light at all. It was difficult to see, and the suddenly loud sound of insects scurrying under the leaves made Inuyasha jump.

 

Sesshoumaru walked on slowly as though he hadn’t noticed, and Inuyasha hurried behind him, looking around in alarm.

 

It wasn’t just his fear; something was certainly different – wrong.

 

The demon lord had noticed the change in Inuyasha’s scent. The hanyou’s heart was racing and fear rolled off him in waves, in a way that had nothing to do with their actual surroundings. It was an old fear, formed of badly-healed scars and memories, the demon Lord knew. The thought of what his pet had been through before he found him was still enough to make his anger rise. The stench of his fear had grown every second that they walked. And yet, he had said nothing; no sound of protest had passed his dutiful slave’s lips.

 

Inuyasha felt the flare in his Master’s youki and a feeling of mortification joined the fear. His Master was angry. Sesshoumaru-sama had given him a chance to join him on a this solitary journey and here he was, being frightened of nothing and jumping at shadows. 

 

But he didn’t know what to do. If it were up to him, he would have switched the dratted fear off, and done his duty, which was to lighten the burden of the journey from his Master’s shoulders as much as he was able, instead of adding to it like this by making him angry.

 

He hung his head, and let his bangs cover his eyes. “Master, forgive me-”

 

Something burst violently through the thicket.

 

It was a demon. It wasn’t quite an insect demon; it had a dark magenta and purple body, and a mouth in the centre of what was probably its face. One single eye blinked sideways above the mouth. It moved on tiny legs, but its speed was deceptive for his size. It roared, and the sound that came out chilled Inuyasha to the bone. It was just a lower level demon, but it wasn’t like any demon that Inuyasha had ever seen. The sound that it made shouldn’t have come out of that body.

 

Inuyasha froze where he stood, mouth open in a silent scream.

 

Sesshoumaru looked at the odd demon and then at his slave and frowned thunderously. This would simply not do.

 

“Inuyasha,” he said sharply, and the commanding tone snapped Inuyasha out of shock. The hanyou turned terrified, desperate eyes towards him. The demon Lord returned his gaze calmly.

 

“Look at it,” he commanded.

 

Inuyasha’s eyes widened with desperation, silently pleading with the demon Lord to change his mind. But there wasn’t time for a lengthy discussion, and the demon Lord’s unwavering gaze told him he would obey.

 

Inuyasha slowly turned his head back to face the thing, and stared at it, hypnotized.

 

It was standing at one end of the clearing, as frozen as Inuyasha had been. It had meant to attack whatever new creature in the forest that was giving of waves of fear, but there was another demon present, a youki it hadn’t sensed, and it was waiting to take stock of whether the other one was a threat. So far, his youki felt low enough, but it also sensed no fear, and instinctively, it knew that both of those could not be true.

 

“Where is its weak point?” Sesshoumaru asked Inuyasha dispassionately.

 

Inuyasha stared dumbfounded from the thing to his Master. Everything had taken on a surreal feeling. Time seemed to have slowed. Fear overwhelmed his senses, and though he had heard the question, he could not respond, because his brain told him what was going to happen – it was the same thing that had always happened. He was going to get attacked, and almost killed, and the slavers were going to watch him suffer and laugh-

 

“Inuyasha!” Sesshoumaru snapped, standing motionless. “Draw your sword and fight!”

 

As though in a dream, Inuyasha slowly unsheathed his sword. The blade glinted dully in the sunlight, and the creature charged him, deciding that the other one wasn’t a threat, and that it was time to kill this one before he became one.

 

Then the thing was close, too close and Inuyasha struck out blindly, his arm using the sword in an attack he had practiced so many times, that it was beyond conscious thought now.

 

When Inuyasha opened his eyes again, the creature was splayed open on the forest floor. Magenta liquid gurgled from the gaping wound through its eye, instead of blood.

 

Inuyasha shuddered, and felt his knees give away where he stood. His sword dropped from numb fingers.

 

He did not know he was wracked with sobs until his Master’s arms were around him, hooked under his knees, picking him up and cradling him close in his lap on the forest floor. Inuyasha buried his face in Sesshoumaru’s chest and cried, releasing all the memories, all the many feelings he had had when he was in this position before that he hadn’t been allowed to feel. The demon prince held the slave tightly to himself, stroking puppy ears till they twitched nervously under his fingers as usual. It was a nightfall by the time Inuyasha’s tears had stopped, and without realizing it, the hanyou fell into a fitful slumber in his Master’s arms.

 

“Congratulations, Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said softly to the sleeping boy. “You have completed your first kill.”

 

The demon Lord released his leashed youki, allowing it to flare around them both, warning off any creatures that might decide to investigate the newcomers under the cover of the night.

The cursed forest was still and silent as the hanyou slept through the night, curled up in his Master’s lap, under the watchful eyes of the Taiyoukai.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

**A/N:** Review and let me know what you think ^.^

 


	7. The Forest of No Return

**A/N:** Big thank you to everyone who left a comment or a kudos for this story ^.^

* * *

 

**Chapter 7 – The Forest Of No Return**

 

Early morning, when Inuyasha woke up, he did not immediately know where he was. He felt warm and safe and comfortable, but the air he breathed was cold in his nose. His Master’s scent was all around him, he could feel the familiar silk of Master’s haori under his cheek. But – was that mud and leaves that he was feeling under his feet? He tried to open his eyes, but found them stuck together. He finally managed to wrench one eye open, the crusty eye under-eye stretching and pulling.

 

Sesshoumaru-sama’s chest was the comfortable thing he had been sleeping against, and yes, it really was the ground and leaves under his feet.

 

Because they were in the cursed forest.

 

And he seemed to have slept in Sesshoumaru-sama’s lap.

 

Both of Inuyasha’s eyes widened in mortification as it finally registered that Sesshoumaru-sama had slept on the cold ground while he was safely ensconced in his arms. One of the demon Lord’s knees was slightly raised such that Inuyasha’s upper body was leaning against it, while he was sitting on the other leg. The demon Lord’s one arm around Inuyasha, holding him close, while Inuyasha’s both arms were around the demon Lord, holding tightly at one time, but the grip relaxing over the course of the night.

 

The taiyoukai was motionless, and Inuyasha looked up, only to find molten golden eyes staring down at him. The hanyou blushed bright read, quickly ducking his head low to hide. Of course, the only place to hide was the demon lord’s chest, but he didn’t care about that right now, not when he knew his eyes were puffy and crusted and he didn’t want the demon Lord scrutinizing him in that state.

 

He wasn’t disturbed in his endeavours to become invisible, but after a few moments, as soon as he raised his head cautiously, Sesshoumaru pulled him closer with the arm that was still around him, and proceeded to squish the hanyou against himself in order to kiss him deeply.

 

Inuyasha’s heart sped up, not only from his Master’s kiss, but also from anxiety – they were completely out in the open in a strange land. But it wasn’t his place to be thinking about that, he knew, and when Sesshoumaru’s grip allowed him to move, he adjusted himself so he was sitting up slightly, arms now encircling the demon Lord’s neck. Sesshoumaru turned him, pressing him up against the trunk of the tree as he let his hand roam the hanyou’s body under his haori.

 

Then the demon lord was ridding him of his hakama carelessly, exposing his bottom to the cold air, and Inuyasha blushed fiercely, looking around furtively for anybody watching. His sleep-laden eyes landed on the dead body lying splayed on the ground in front of them.

 

And then he remembered – the strange demon had attacked them, and his Master had ordered him to fight, and he had killed it. Horrified, he began to struggle blindly in Sesshoumaru’s grip. But the demon prince was now in no mood to stop, and a murmured command made Inuyasha immediately stop his struggles and turn his attention back to his Master.

 

The demon Lord made him kneel over his by now erect cock, knees on each side of his hip. Just when he was about to enter his slave, Inuyasha reached a hand inside his own haori, and with shaking fingers, handed a small bottle to the demon Lord.

 

Sesshoumaru’s eyes darkened as he took the bottle from the hanyou. It was oil. The hanyou had kept a bottle of oil on him for the journey in preparation for his Master desiring to take him at any time.

 

The hanyou eeped as one clawed finger was under his leather collar and he was pulled down by the neck and kissed passionately. Sesshoumaru coated a generous amount on his fingers and quickly prepared Inuyasha. Against his wish, Inuyasha moaned, bucking against his Master’s body as his morning wood, combined with his Master’s attentions made his need urgent. The taiyoukai’s hot fingers inside his cold bottom felt warm and heavy and wonderful, but he hadn’t forgotten the horrid scene that awaited him just behind his back. His still groggy brain struggled to form thoughts as he bucked against his Master’s hand, ready to cum just from the fingers alone.

 

Then the hand withdrew, and just as Inuyasha had thought he would be pulled down over the erect cock, he was turned over onto his back. He gasped up at his Master, as his back and head hit the dirty ground strewn with old dried leaves, damp with dew, and the demon Lord loomed over him with languid, dark gold eyes.

 

Sesshoumaru grabbed his legs and raised his butt up off the ground, folding him in half, pressing his knees against his chest. Inuyasha flushed, eyes wild with too many sensations and too many thoughts. He had made his first kill last night. The ground was so cold under his back. For the first time, he had taken a life. He shouldn’t be doing this here when the evidence of the life he had taken was right behind them.

 

But his Master didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it, and although he tried to be quiet, Inuyasha couldn’t help the pained moan that escaped him as the oil-covered cock breached his hole steadily. He clenched his fists from the pain, only to have his wrists captured and slammed over his head on the forest floor.

 

The sun climbed steadily in the sky as the demon prince took pleasure in his slave’s body. Inuyasha bucked and moaned and concentrated on breathing, and all thoughts of the previous night went out of his head. He didn’t notice that the forest was unnaturally silent; birds should have been chirping overhead, and the breeze blowing through the leaves should have made them rustle.

 

Out of the darkness of the dense trees around and over them, many sets of eyes – pink and yellow and green -  glowed faintly, unseen by the hanyou and taiyoukai.

 

Even when the demon Lord’s hips sped up, nearing his release, Inuyasha’s cock was still trapped between his and his Master’s body, and all he could do was cant his hips as much as he could to match his pace. And it was only the feel of his Master’s cum wet inside of him that pushed the hanyou over the edge.

 

It was late morning when Inuyasha came back to his senses, and he thought he may have blacked out for a few seconds, because he couldn’t seem to catch his breath properly as he lay on the forest floor. The demon Lord was already on his feet, straightening his clothing, and brushing an absent hand through his hair.

 

Inuyasha forced himself to sit up when he saw his Master was ready to go. His eyes landed once again on the dead demon, and his abandoned sword next to it.

 

Face pale, he quickly got to his feet, and pulled his hakama back on. Trying not to look directly at the dead body, he hurried to his sword and picked it up, wincing when he bent over as his bottom hurt from the use it had been put to all morning. He took a couple of leaves off the ground and carefully smoothed the blood off the blade before sheathing it; his Master would definitely punish him if he neglected his blade.

 

“Come,” Sesshoumaru commanded, as he turned to continue walking on the path they had taken. Inuyasha obeyed, glancing over his shoulder at the body, then hurrying after his Master.

 

As they walked on, Inuyasha found himself looking over his shoulders again and again.

“You did well,” Sesshoumaru said from in front of him. Inuyasha whipped his head around, surprised. He hadn’t thought his master had noticed him looking back.

 

“Thank you, Master,” he said softly, blushing at the rare praise. Discreetly, he tried to brush some dirt off his behind that seemed to have clung to him during their escapades.

 

“You will hunt and prepare our meal,” the demon Lord ordered from in front of him, pulling him out of his thoughts about his bottom, and Inuyasha felt his heart leap into his throat. “Yes, Master,” he managed to get out, staring ahead at the demon Lord, unable to hide the panic from showing on his face.

 

Of course, he should have expected this would be one of his duties while they travelled. The demon Lord hadn’t brought any of his other servants with him; it was only natural that Inuyasha would wait on him in everything.

 

But Inuyasha hadn’t ever hunted for his meal, let alone prepare it. The slavers had always provided him with whatever scraps he was to eat, and then he had been with Sesshoumaru-sama. He clenched his hand into a fist, and found his palm suddenly slick with sweat.

 

 

He didn’t have to go far. He found a few deer not far from where their path. Their heads were lopped off with one clean stroke of Inuyasha’s blade. It wasn’t difficult, but the surprising amount of blood still turned his stomach. Gingerly, he picked up the carcass and traipsed back to his Master.

 

He laid the two bodies at Sesshoumaru’s feet and knelt down quietly, and bowed his head. The demon Lord stopped, waiting for Inuyasha to say what was on his mind.

 

A few moments later, Inuyasha gathered his courage. “Forgive me, I- I don’t know how to prepare the food, Master,” he said with his head still bowed to the ground, waiting for punishment.

 

“Make a fire,” came the demon Lord’s voice from above. Inuyasha looked up from the bow in surprise, and then got up hastily. It didn’t take long to gather the required material. He had done many times before for the slavers. It wasn’t long before a good-sized fire was crackling merrily.

 

As he squatted on his haunches, stoking the flame, there were soft footfalls behind him, and Inuyasha turned around to see Sesshoumaru picking up the two carcasses easily with one hand.

 

Then he stepped forward towards the fire and laid them out on the ground. Before Inuyasha’s surprised eyes, he lowered himself to the ground gracefully, sitting cross-legged on the leaf-strewn earth. Then he gestured for Inuyasha to do the same, and the stunned hanyou had to force himself into motion in order to obey. Sesshoumaru then caught hold of a carcass, and with his claws, began to skin it slowly, instructing Inuyasha on the correct method to do so. He was careful not to let a drop of his poison seep into the food, and he made Inuyasha copy each of his movements on the other carcass, correcting him where he made a mistake.

 

Soon, the meat was neatly sliced up and roasting on the fire, and before long, they were having their first meal of the day. It didn’t taste anywhere as good as the food at the palace; it had no spices, for one. But Inuyasha watched his Master eat it without complaint. He instantly resolved to carry at least salt next time if ever they were travelling alone like this.

 

Inuyasha felt full faster than he normally would have done, and it was an effort to finish off the last bit of the meat. Then the fire was extinguished, the bones were buried, and the two were on their way again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Inuyasha found himself getting tired soon. It was strange; they hadn’t walked more than a couple of miles, and yet, it his legs were heavy, his head felt light, and all he wanted to do was sit down and fall asleep.

 

Only when he stumbled, did Sesshoumaru stop walking.

 

“Go find a stream and drink some water, Inuyasha,” he ordered, looking around carefully at the oddly silent forest.

 

Inuyasha nodded gratefully and took off. He could hear the faint bubbling of a stream and it didn’t sound very far away.

 

He didn’t have to search long to come upon a nice, clean stream. Looking around perfunctorily, he quickly lowered his hakama and lowered himself in the stream, sighing in relief as he was finally able to clean himself of all the dirt and grime from the forest floor. As his fingers brushed over his skin, he blushed, remembering his Master’s use of his body that morning.

 

Shaking himself out of his daydreams, he stepped out of the stream again as quickly as possible and donned his clothes again. His Master was waiting for him and castle life had really managed to spoil him if he couldn’t bear a little bit of dirt anymore.

 

Then he lowered himself onto his knees next to the stream, immersing his hands in the water, letting it wash away all the dirt and grime from having handled his clothes, before cupping his hands and raising the water to his lips.

 

Once again, there was the sound of quiet footsteps behind him, and Inuyasha froze. He couldn’t feel any youkai aura behind him.

 

When nothing attacked him immediately, he slowly turned around. To his intense relief, it was his Master who was standing behind him. Strange, he’d thought the demon Lord had intended to wait while he went and found water. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short on seeing the look on his face.

 

Slowly, Sesshoumaru raised his hand to the hilt of bakusaiga at his belt. The demon Lord released a small breath and Inuyasha could suddenly feel his youki again, though it was only a fraction of its real strength, almost equal to Inuyasha’s own youki.  Then, with his hand still on the hilt of his sword, Sesshoumaru bent his knees slightly and shot straight up in the air, flying up above the tops of the trees in a second.

 

Not a moment later, Inuyasha had to raise an arm to shield his face as something erupted out of the water. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the blurs of various dark shapes all around the clearing pursuing his Master up in the air. Inuyasha tried to look up, but the sun was still almost directly overhead, and he couldn’t make out either his Master or the other demons.

 

A few moments later, he didn’t have to look up as the sky was raining body parts and entrails. Inuyasha once again crouched down, covering his face with the sleeve of his haori and his arm as Sesshoumaru descended regally, bakusaiga drawn and stained with purple and pink and green goop.

 

As the demon Lord raised the blade to his eye-level, Inuyasha noticed that it was blood; the creatures had bled in these odd colours. Sesshoumaru seemed to be noting the same thing, as he flicked the blade sharply, cleaning it of the mess in one stroke. Inuyasha resolved to someday ask his Master to teach him to control his youki like that, to make it invisible at will.

 

“Have your fill of water and then we need to keep moving,” Sesshoumaru said calmly, looking down at the hanyou. Inuyasha lowered his head in assent, and stooped down over the stream to quickly drink as much water as he could.

 

Soon, they were on their way again. Inuyasha could not tell what direction his Master was taking; the path didn’t seem to be leading out of the forest, but rather, deeper into it. He wondered for a moment if the demon Lord had got lost. But he didn’t have the courage or the energy to ask, because it was taking every bit of his strength to just put one foot in front of the other.

 

Inuyasha could not understand it. He did not remember ever being this tired before, except maybe a few times while travelling with the slavers. And then, he had been starving or ill or injured. A hanyou like him did not easily get so tired, not after having a full belly, not after simply walking a little. If he’d been alone, he would have stopped to rest a long time ago. But as the demon prince didn’t seem at all inclined to stop, Inuyasha concentrated on the black boots in front of him, one after the other, even as visions of lying down and resting and sleep danced in front of his eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

They stopped to rest once again when the sun set. Sesshoumaru decreed that it wasn’t safe to travel during the night and that they wouldn’t travel in the night unless absolutely required. Inuyasha wasn’t sure what would be so different; strange demons lurked in the forest even during the daytime, and it wasn’t like Lord Sesshoumaru’s eyesight was affected by the darkness. But he didn’t question his orders.

 

There was another bigger stream where Sesshoumaru decided they would spend the night. This clearing was also bigger, less surrounded by dense trees, and Sesshoumaru lowered himself gracefully to the ground under a solitary tree. Mokomoko-sama formed a cushion around his head and back, and Inuyasha crumpled to the ground near his feet in relief, suddenly unable to take a single step more.

 

A moment later, when he’d caught his breath, he looked up at his Master. The demon Lord had his eyes closed, and Inuyasha knew from the look on his face that he was deep in thought. The hanyou blushed; he had been dreading his Master having to lower himself to sitting or sleeping on the ground, but he needn’t have worried. He hadn’t thought anyone could look regal lying on the forest ground like that, but Lord Sesshoumaru managed it, looking entirely comfortable, like he was the undisputed owner of everything he surveyed.

 

Inuyasha shuffled closer to the demon Lord’s feet and reached out to gently begin pulling off his shoes. He looked up carefully to make sure he wasn’t disturbing the demon prince’s thoughts. When Sesshoumaru didn’t open his eyes or seem bothered, he continued with his task until both his feet were bare. The ground was covered in soft, mossy grass, but Inuyasha carefully placed his Master’s bare feet on his lap, not allowing them to touch the dirty ground.

 

Slowly, he began to massage each appendage. Not many would have noticed the subtle relaxation in Sesshoumaru’s posture, the way he lay down slightly more comfortably against mokomoko, but Inuyasha saw it. He saw the deep breath the demon Lord released and smiled, happy that he was right in his guess that the demon prince was tired too, though he would never let it show. Sesshoumaru leaned his head back against the soft fur, allowing his slave to serve him while the gentle sound of the flowing stream made him drowsy.

 

“Have you travelled outside of the Western Lands?” Sesshoumaru asked quietly as the slave sat massaging his feet.

 

Inuyasha shook his head. “No, Master. I was born here, and haven’t been anywhere very far from where Master found me.”

 

A soft blush rose to his cheeks at the memory of being rescued from the humiliation and abuse of the slavers.

 

Sesshoumaru turned his head contemplatively on the stream that was glistening in the faint moonlight as it flowed.

 

“Then the customs of the South may surprise you,” he murmured.

 

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, digging his thumb gently into his Master’s instep. “Are they different from ours?” he asked.

 

“They are harsher,” Sesshoumaru said. “The Western lands follows its own rules, and not those usual to youkai of the world. Our rules are kinder to the weak than youkai are wont to be.”

 

Inuyasha didn’t think his Master had ever followed any rules but his own, and he didn’t see how he was going to start following the rules of a strange land now when he had never completely obeyed Inu no Taisho and Lady Tsukiko’s, but he held his tongue, continuing his massage quietly.

 

Sesshoumaru seemed to have seen the thought flit across his face and he smiled to himself. “If it wasn’t that we represent the Western lands, we would have no need to even give these things a thought, but as it is, it would be…unbecoming… to start a war at a peaceful council meeting.”

 

“Peaceful?” Inuyasha asked, looking up from his task for a moment.

 

Sesshoumaru ran an absent hand through a few strands of his hair that fell over his shoulder, inclining his head at the scepticism in the hanyou’s voice. “It is true that all of these youkai would sooner kill the others and take the world for themselves, but having failed to do just that many times over, they at last understood that the next best time to attempt it is not when they are gathered to discuss the fate of the world.”

 

He stared contemplative at Inuyasha and at the metal ring in the centre of his leather collar, glinting dully in the moonlight. “All the staff serving me on this trip have been chosen after thorough and gruelling training in how to behave before those who are not their Masters, but at the same time, their betters in blood and lineage – as, I believe, most of the servants and slaves accompanying their Masters will be. It is a…delicate matter, because nobody except their Masters would really be entitled to punish them, and yet, if they give severe offence, confrontation with a stronger ruler or an ally, cannot always be risked for the sake of a low-born servant.”

 

Inuyasha looked up, startled, and his fingers stilled. Gruelling training? He hadn’t had any gruelling training in how to behave. And if low-born full-blooded youkai were so easily sacrificed at the altar of respect, a half-demon would certainly be nothing by comparison.

 

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru mused, correctly interpreting the look on Inuyasha’s face. “You may have to… adjust your behaviour.”

 

“Master?” he asked tentatively.

 

The demon Lord’s eyes were sparkling with amusement. “The insubordination that you get away with normally won’t be tolerated.”

 

Inuyasha turned red, and avoided his Master’s eyes. It was his Master who had painfully cultivated that insubordination that wasn’t natural to the hanyou at all, simply because it amused him. Without replying, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his Master’s feet. “Master knows I will do as he commands,” he said softly.

 

Sesshoumaru watched him straighten up, his magenta-striped eye-lids lowered with sleep, watched the colour of those lips glow in the moonlight with the soft sheen of saliva on them, and felt the slight coolness on his feet where they had touched his skin.  

 

“That’s enough,” he ordered softly, and Inuyasha stopped massaging.

 

The night had fully set in now, and after putting the shoes back on his Master’s feet, Inuyasha was fully prepared to lie down at his feet and fall asleep, when the demon Lord ordered him closer.

 

Inuyasha shuffled over cautiously, careful not to touch mokomoko-sama without permission. When he was close enough, the demon Lord’s clawed hand closed over his wrist firmly, and pulled, toppling the hanyou over onto the demon Lord’s chest and on the fur.

 

The night was cold and Sesshoumaru had said that it would be safer to not have a fire burning in the darkness of the night – it would apparently only attract unwanted attention rather than discourage it. Inuyasha gasped at the sudden warmth, and mokomoko-sama curled up protectively around the hanyou, squishing him closer to the demon Lord’s chest, and forming a warm cocoon at his back. Inuyasha snuggled into the demon Lord’s chest, and Sesshoumaru’s arm wound around his waist in response. The hanyou fell asleep to the gurgling sound of the stream, and his Master’s slow, rhythmic breathing.

 

* * *

 

 

_He was running through the forest, watching his bare feet on the leave-strewn, dirty ground. The ground was close, too close, and it seemed to be rising up to meet him, and he was trying to breathe, and he couldn’t seem to get enough air._

_He dashed the tears out of his eyes, and somehow, he felt the slavers chasing him get closer, catching up to him, and he cried out. He turned for a second to look over his shoulder, and it wasn’t the slavers at all. It was the magenta demon, teeth bared and ravening, and then he was stumbling, falling on the dirty, wet floor and the thing was above him, on top of him, its purple furry hand on his back, holding him down._

_His master… where was Sesshoumaru-sama? Had already gone on that far ahead?_

_Inuyasha looked up at the path in front of him, and he saw the glowing white that was the silk of his Master’s clothing fading in the distance before him._

_“Sesshoumaru-sama!” he cried out, reaching out with one hand._

_The demon on his back was lowering his hakama, and there was cool wind on his exposed bottom._

_“Master! Master, please come back,” he sobbed, feeling the creature’s furry finger poking at his bottom. “Master Sesshoumaru!”_

_“No!” he struggled in the creature’s grasp. Hadn’t he just killed it? But it was hot and alive and breathing hard against his back. “No, no I belong to Master Sesshoumaru. No, no please-h”_

“ _Inuyasha.”_

_There was that voice. The beloved voice. Who was it? Was it his mother?_

_“Inuyasha!”_

_The hanyou struggled harder. No! The creature wasn’t getting to his mother. His mother wasn’t dying again. She had already died once. She wasn’t dying again._

_“Inuyasha, open your eyes.”_

_Why was the voice so calm? Why wasn’t she running? She was going to get killed! Why wasn’t she running?_

_“Inuyasha, I command you to open your eyes now!”_

Golden eyes snapped open.

 

He began struggling blindly, but the arms holding him in place weren’t furry. Inuyasha looked around wildly. “Please, please let me go,” he muttered incoherently, eyes open but not seeing properly.

 

Strong fingers gripped his chin and turned his face as they pleased. Inuyasha was forced to look straight and there were light golden eyes before him, calm and deep.

 

“You’re alright,” the demon Lord murmured, holding him firmly in place on his lap. “Calm yourself, hanyou.”

 

Inuyasha took in panicked breaths, staring at the demon Lord as though he didn’t recognize him, but his body was already responding to his voice, obeying his command even though his brain didn’t entirely understand them.

 

“You had a nightmare,” Sesshoumaru said, reaching up and stroking a strand of white hair out of Inuyasha’s sweaty face. “You’re fine.”

 

Inuyasha clutched at his heart unconsciously. “No… no that’s not possible. It felt too real. It was really happening. It was real.”

 

“It wasn’t,” Sesshoumaru asserted. “It’s this place. It plays havoc with one’s senses.”

 

“Master…” Inuyasha whispered. He reached out and grasped the demon Lord’s arm, as though to make sure he was real. His heart gradually slowed, realizing finally that no, it wasn’t the past. He wasn’t the small, helpless boy who had been captured by the slavers, and his Master hadn’t gone anywhere.

 

He looked down and realized he was sitting on the ground between the demon Lord’s thighs, one of his legs bent at the knee, closing Inuyasha in. The hanyou sighed and leaned back against his Master’s chest. Sesshoumaru’s arm circled him, and turned him around to face him. Inuyasha tried to look up at him, but he found his head lowering of its own accord, trying to hide in the demon Lord’s embrace.

“Do you know why this forest is known as the Forest of No Return?” Sesshoumaru murmured, raising the boy’s chin up with two fingers.

 

Inuyasha took a deep shuddering breath. “Because most people who go in, don’t come back out,” he stated dully. “And those who do –” hanyou eyes widened. “-those who do are no longer in their right minds.”

 

Inuyasha looked away at the faintly glowing stream, moonlight reflecting off it dully. The sight suddenly sent cold shivers up his spine. “So, they aren’t really back, because they’re no longer the same person.”

 

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru said. “That is why the creatures that inhabit it aren’t like the ones anywhere in the world. They have evolved into twisted things that don’t behave as they would be expected to.”

 

One large hand landed on Inuyasha’s head and smoothed the drooping puppy ears back reassuringly. “It makes me dream too,” the demon Lord told him. “It seems even taiyoukai aren’t immune to its effects.”

 

This shook Inuyasha up all over again. He twisted around a little to get a good look at the demon Lord. He wasn’t covered in sweat like he, Inuyasha, was. And his heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute like Inuyasha’s.

 

“Really?” he asked doubtfully. “What kind of dreams, Master?”

 

“Terrible nightmares,” Sesshoumaru answered airily. His lips twisted into a smile at the horrified look on Inuyasha’s face.

 

“What is worrying you so, hanyou?” he asked, gripping the back of Inuyasha’s neck and pulling him closer.

 

“Master… Master is affected too… what are we going to do?” Inuyasha whispered, panic seeping into his voice for the first time.

 

Sesshoumaru blinked at him as though he could not, for the life of him, see what there was to be worried about. “We’re going to get through it, to the other side. What else?” he asked.

 

Inuyasha stared at him, and he chuckled softly, pulling the hanyou in for a soft kiss. “They’re nightmares, Inuyasha, but that’s all they are.”

 

Inuyasha looked down when he was allowed to pull away, and did not meet the demon Lord’s eyes. “How long do you think it will take, Master?” he asked in a small voice.

 

“It depends,” Sesshoumaru answered, leaning back against mokomoko-sama now that his pet had calmed a little. “A fortnight, perhaps more.”

 

Inuyasha’s hand twitched in his lap. A fortnight… a fortnight in his hell-hole. That meant he would be in here on the night when he turned human, when the forest would be pitch-black without a hint of moonlight.

 

“Do not worry yet,” Sesshoumaru said, pulling him close once again. “We have yet to enter the depths of the forest. And it only gets worse from here.”

 

Puppy ears drooped. _How_ was that meant to reassure him? That it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was going to be?

 

He looked up at his Master and Sesshoumaru already had his eyes closed again, breathing slow and even. Inuyasha watched him sleep, but didn’t close his eyes for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

 **A/N:** Dear god that was a long-ass chapter. But forest sex yay! ^.^

Please let me know what you think ^.^ Feedback is invaluable to fanfiction writers, even if it’s criticism. One line (or paragraph, or page) of flaming criticism is far better than no feedback at all.

 

Thanks for reading!


	8. The Witch Miko

 

 **A/N:** A huge thank you to **SlySkySeamen, Loneofakind, Specs2, ShiroKuma28, Gingeeinthetardis, Zara, DaddyDeath, RoyalSoukoku1827 (EsteSapphire), vlacksovereign, charllotex, Yolanda Mose, Val, Amber, DeeJay_Gomie, Nixcky, kppl** **Katie G., Ama, CrazyYasha, bookworm83197, DepravedWitch, Guest, Aijindaiku, Vee, Veronica, xiaolee, Sen, 8FunkyBlueS, kalico29, Caribbean_Bell, vlacksovereign, Sarraphyna,** and **Kimber020389** for giving me feedback on this story so far in the form of comments ^.^ It’s because of you guys that I’m still excited to continue this story.

 

On to the chapter!       

* * *

 

 

**Chapter 8 – The Witch Miko**

_**“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.”** _

**_  
―_ _Terry Pratchett_ _,_ _Wintersmith_ **

_…_

_Blood -  flowing, cascading down the ledge of the stone apron under the high windows of the castle of the Lord of the West. The flow wavered where it caught the ridges where the stone had worn out a little through the years._

_He looked up. Raindrops stung his eyes but he didn’t lower them. His father’s arm dangled off the edge of the broken balcony of the drawing room on the second floor.._

_The bite of cold in the air increased impossibly; it was colder than freezing temperatures – yet, it was raining, not snowing. It was like the dark of the night itself held the cold within its bosom, catching and infecting everything it lay its thick, dark blanket on._

_Sesshoumaru turned and looked over his shoulder at the long, quiet, empty street where a torch was burning brightly, incongruously, in the pouring rain. He knew his mother was dead. He knew the entire household of the castle of the West was dead. That torch would not be burning if they weren’t._

_Rain slid off the naked blade of bakusaiga in his hand. He wanted to sheathe it. He wanted to let go of it. But it was like the sword was a part of his arm, and he could no more let go of it than take his own arm off and put it aside._

_The pile of bodies in the courtyard of the castle was beginning to rot, though they looked as fresh as living beings. The stench of death and decomposition rose off the pile and buffeted around him in the rainy winds, as Sesshoumaru looked into the dead, unseeing eyes of little Rin. Her body was on top of the large pile of humans. Hiro was under her, and Miroku’s purple robes stuck out from under him._

_They should get rid of the bodies. But nobody was left alive in the castle to perform the last rites._

_He wanted to move, to take to the sky, but his feet seemed to be stuck to the ground, and now he was part of it, part of the earth, part of castle ground, and he would stand there for all eternity, watching the pile of bodies rot away. Idly, he wondered how long it took. He had never bothered to find out._

 

Magenta striped eyelids opened slowly, as Sesshoumaru woke from his dream, breathing slightly hard. He blinked his eyes against the sunlight as he sat up, silk hakama rustling like a whisper. Well. That was new. He hadn’t been thinking about Rin, or Hiro or any of them as far as he recalled. And there was no such empty street inside the palace grounds, although he had seen it someplace before.

 

The smell of cooked fish reached his nose. He looked around and spotted Inuyasha near the stream, vigorously cleaning what looked like some roots, and putting them on large green leaves.

 

They chose to camp for the night near streams whenever it was possible. It provided a quick source of water, and the air around it was slightly cooler compared to the hot, musty forest.

 

The demon Lord got to his feet and walked towards the hanyou, relishing the heat of the day that was such a contrast to his dreams. A small fire was crackling merrily near the stream and next to it, lay the fish – some regular fish, and some demon fish – that Inuyasha had caught and cooked from the stream.

 

“Did you sleep at all?” Sesshoumaru asked from behind, and Inuyasha jumped, dropping the roots in his hands.

 

“A- a little, I think, Master,” he said, turning around and bowing his head before the demon Lord. Dark circles lined Inuyasha’s eyes, and he tried to hide them from his Master as he lowered his head.

 

Sesshoumaru did not seem to notice as he knelt down gracefully next to Inuyasha at the edge of the stream. Leaning forward slightly, he cupped some of the cool, fresh water in his hands and gently splashed it on his face, allowing the dreadful remnants of the dream to fade from memory.

 

After once again cleaning the roots he had dropped, Inuyasha lay out their breakfast on large leaves – roots and well-cooked fish for him, and slightly cooked fish-youkai for the demon Lord. Sesshoumaru sat cross-legged opposite the half-demon and they began to have their meal.

 

Inuyasha tried to keep his eyes lowered, but could not help stealing glances at his Master. Even after having gone through this for many days, it still felt surreal to share a meal with his Master, sitting on the same level, as though he were an equal.

When they were travelling like this, he should serve the meal to his Master first, and wait on him while he had it. Then, and only then, should he be allowed to eat. However, because of how dangerous the forest was, the demon Lord had ordered Inuyasha to eat with him in favour of saving time. Inuyasha had to admit it wasn’t wise to take any longer in the forest than necessary, but that didn’t make this any less uncomfortable. He didn’t get any more graceful overnight, and the demon Lord didn’t get any less regal, and it just felt wrong, as though he were doing something naughty.

 

“Are we still far from the castle, Master?” Inuyasha asked, breaking the silence after a while, as he bit into a bit of the roots along with the fish to give it some slight flavour.

 

They had been travelling for days, and the forest only seemed to be getting denser. The faint sunlight that filtered through the trees had given way to a dull, interminable greyness that seemed to be just on the brink of breaking into bright sunlight, but never did. The atmosphere was heavy, like it would rain any moment, but it didn’t.

 

“Yes,” the demon Lord replied bluntly. Inuyasha flinched inwardly, trying to keep the fear from showing on his face. Minutes passed in silence as Inuyasha’s mind dredged up images of what would happen to him when he transformed into a human in this forest. However, it would do no good to dwell on anxious thoughts and Inuyasha tried to turn his mind onto other channels.

 

“Master… last when Hiten-san and Manten-san were at the castle-”

 

“Hiten and Manten- _sama_ ,” Sesshoumaru corrected him, looking up from his food and turning piercing golden eyes on his pet. “You must address all of the guests at the castle as –sama. Even a butler or a servant can be flogged for such an error and you are not that. You may address the other servants there as –san.”

 

The demon Lord well understood why the normally polite hanyou would make such a mistake. Manten’s behaviour towards him the last they had met had been such as to destroy all respect the hanyou may have had for him. But it would not do for him to display such poor manners before the guests at the Council meeting.

 

Inuyasha turned bright red for the shame of having to be corrected in so simple a thing. “Please forgive me,” he said bowing low. “I meant… when Hiten-sama and Manten-sama were at the castle, Manten-sama asked me to… he tried to-”

 

Inuyasha trailed off, embarrassed. He lowered the leaf that was serving as a plate and placed it on the ground along with half-eaten fish and roots. He tried to hide his clenched fists inside his sleeves even as his bangs covered his eyes from his Master’s gaze.

 

“They will try nothing inappropriate with you,” Sesshoumaru assured him. “There is a uniform for the servants and staff appropriate to their station. Once you wear black and my collar around your neck, you will not be troubled unless they are willing to risk personally offending me.”

 

“Black, Master?” Inuyasha asked, puppy ears swivelling curiously. He had never worn black haori or hakama before. Come to think of it, he had seen no one at the Western castle wear black.

 

Sometimes Sesshoumaru found himself surprised by Inuyasha’s ignorance of what was common knowledge to him. But then, the half-demon really was very young, and had never in his life been exposed to good society outside of the castle.

 

“It is worn only as a mark of the wearer’s status as the lowest of the low in society,” Sesshoumaru explained, voice impassive as Inuyasha’s ears drooped dejectedly. “The servants wear brown while the pets, slaves, toys and the like will all be in black clothing of their Master’s choosing. Some like their pets to be… more exposed than others.”

 

Colour rose to Inuyasha’s cheeks again, and this time, he didn’t have the courage to raise his eyes.

 

“Wh-what would Master like me to wear?” Inuyasha asked, face feeling hot, eyes trained on the ground.

 

Across from him, Sesshoumaru smirked. “That depends on how well my puppy behaves on the journey,” he said stoically.

 

The little blood that had abated from Inuyasha’s cheeks returned full force. That did not bode well for him at all. He was already being a bad puppy, he knew, not sleeping and gathering his strength when he should. At this rate, he would end up in mere strips.

 

Sesshoumaru sadistically enjoyed his pet’s discomfort as he continued eating his breakfast at leisure. In truth, he had no intention of baring even an inch of Inuyasha’s skin to the eyes of the lecherous Lords and ladies. He didn’t want those bastards oogling his puppy and anyone so much as putting a finger on Inuyasha was going to pull back a bloody stump, peace be damned.

 

But that did not mean he had to forego the pleasure of watching Inuyasha’s cheeks turn pink as he fretted over the demon Lord’s threat.

 

* * *

 

 

It was late afternoon, when Inuyasha found himself – once again – leaning against a tree and panting harshly. Ahead of him, Sesshoumaru’s slow walk petered out as he waited for Inuyasha to catch his breath. It was the fourth time in as many hours that Inuyasha had had to stop for a rest; his feeling of tiredness seemed to be growing worse with each passing day. Privately, he knew that depriving himself of sleep was not helping. Even when Sesshoumaru fell asleep, Inuyasha could not bring himself to close his eyes in the night. He went without sleep as many nights as he could. When he simply could not stay awake, he allowed himself to slumber for a couple of hours before dawn, and even then, he had horrible dreams.

 

To add to his misery, his Master was not in a good humour. The demon Lord had seemed to be in such a good mood after mercilessly pulling the hanyou’s leg at breakfast, but every time they had to stop for Inuyasha to get his breath back, he became more sombre and stern. Inuyasha had once again begun to feel like he was being a burden more than a helpful servant to his Master. He wished the demon Lord wouldn’t have to come to his rescue every now and again. Strange demon attacks got more and more common the deeper they went into the forest. After that first kill on the first day, Inuyasha had gradually gotten used to slaying his enemies, and Sesshoumaru allowed him to handle quite a few demons on his own, sometimes even two or three at one time.

 

But since the last couple of days, they’d started encountering higher level, sentient demons that could talk. Inuyasha wasn’t yet equipped to fight those. In the meantime, he wished his Master would at least make use of him to relieve himself of his tension and anger. But the demon Lord did nothing of the kind, leading the way almost silently.

 

Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to say something, when a strange, high-pitched screech suddenly rang out through the forest.

 

Inuyasha froze with his hand still resting on the trunk of the tree and his head lowered. The youkai aura accompanying the inhuman, unnatural sound made it clear this one would be one of those higher-level demons. Normally, Inuyasha would have immediately turned towards its source, weapon in hand, at least ready to defend himself. But today, he found himself frozen to the spot, fear making his heart beat wild.

 

The demon that burst through the woods flew straight for Inuyasha, and the hanyou managed to duck down low at the very last minute to avoid being hit by its immense wings.

 

It was something like a bird, its wing-span as large as the tallest tree in the forest. But its wings were brown and leathery entirely featherless. It looked sort of like a bat, but with a beak instead of a mouth, and oddly large, leathery ears like an elephant’s. If Inuyasha hadn’t seen it fly himself, he wouldn’t have believed the bulky mass could even get off the ground.

 

But it did fly, gliding lightly through the forest as though there weren’t dense trees in its path. And when Inuyasha ducked at the last minute, it should have crashed into the tree right behind him, but it didn’t. It stopped itself short suddenly, in mid-air, within inches of the tree-trunk. Then flapping its great wings and hovering inches off the ground, it turned around in a strange, almost-human movement that sent shivers creeping up Inuyasha’s spine.

 

Having snapped out of the daze caused by the eerie sound, Inuyasha finally drew his sword. But it was barely as big as the bird-demon’s talon, and he knew it wouldn’t really do him much good. The creature shuffled back on relatively small legs and prepared to reach down and pluck the half-demon off the ground in one bite.

 

“A half-breed so deep into the forest?” it screeched, blinking down at figure in red clothing. “How did you make it this far?”

 

“He’s not alone,” Sesshoumaru declared from behind the creature. It whipped its large neck back to look at the other trespasser.

 

“A taiyoukai,” the creature grinned, a snake-like tongue sneaking out to lick its own beak. “Have you kept the hanyou around for a snack? Well, you may not get a single bite when I’m done with him.”

 

“The half-demon is off limits,” Sesshoumaru said, sounding bored. The now unsheathed bakusaiga glinted dully in the odd forest light. “Go back to where you came from if you wish to leave with your life.”

 

The creature laughed, and its laugh was eerily similar to the shriek they had heard earlier. It was delightful to find sane people around these parts. Humans, of course, never made it this far, and most youkai who somehow found themselves here were rambling, haggard fools. This taiyoukai and his hanyou would make an excellent meal.

 

Before Inuyasha’s eyes, the creature leaned down and gobbled the demon Lord up.

 

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. The bird demon licked its beak mockingly, and turned cruel brown and black eyes towards the hanyou.  

 

“Even a taiyoukai was no match for me,” it drawled boastfully. “What’s a useless half-breed going to do?”

 

Inuyasha flinched. His sword wavered in his hand from the demon’s all-too-true words.

 

But before it could take another step, its stomach glowed green, and bakusaiga’s green light cut through its belly from the inside. Inuyasha shielded his eyes, and only opened them when he heard the tell-tale swoosh that was Sesshoumaru whisking blood and gore off his blade.

 

Inuyasha lowered his sword, smiling weakly in relief, although he had known the demon Lord couldn’t be defeated that easily.

 

Sesshoumaru didn’t look happy. He was covered from head to toe in a mucky, gooey substance and he didn’t look the slightest bit pleased.

 

“Let’s go,” he ordered irritably. Inuyasha sheathed his sword and hurried after him quickly, stumbling over a root in his haste.

 

* * *

 

Now they would have to look for a stream, Sesshoumaru thought testily. As though their progress wasn’t slow enough as it was. Uncharitably, he wondered if it was entirely necessary for demons to be made of such sticky, smelly muck.

 

In the back of his mind, he knew the stench of demon insides wasn’t really what was bothering him. The forest seemed to be taking more of a toll on the half-demon than he had anticipated. He didn’t like how jumpy and skittish and weak his pet had become. The deeper they went into the forest, the more incapable of rational thought the hanyou seemed to become. He was avoiding sleep to keep nightmares away, even knowing the toll it would take on his body.

 

Sesshoumaru raised one clawed hand and sliced through an overhanging vine viciously. Knowing the hanyou, if he continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before he did something extremely stupid.

 

* * *

 

“Inuyasha, stay where you are and don’t move,” Sesshoumaru ordered, eyes fixed on the demon before them that grinning cruelly at the half-demon. Inuyasha stared, hypnotized; he couldn’t seem to be able to tear his eyes away from the creature.

 

It was nearing evening and Inuyasha had been so hopeful of getting a night’s rest before encountering more youkai, that he found himself completely unprepared for dealing with this strange, tall demon with hypnotic red eyes.

 

_Don’t run…_

 

But he had to. He couldn’t be in its presence. He couldn’t. The youkai’s power gently pressed down on his will with an insistent pressure, and try as he might, he could not find the strength to fight it. He told his body not to obey, but it was as if his limbs refused to listen to him, and he took off, heading blindly deeper into the forest.

 

To his surprise, the demon didn’t chase him. He could feel the creature’s malignant presence fall away. It wasn’t like any other youkai aura that he had felt yet. It was as though it was swathed in evil, and what it could do to him was far worse than bodily injuries or death. He felt his instinctive anxiety lessen the farther he got from it, and he took in deep breaths as much as he was able, thanking the gods he hadn’t made a fool out of himself by being caught in its clutches after his Master had warned him.

 

When Sesshoumaru, who was gliding just above the tree-tops looking for the hanyou, caught up with him, Inuyasha was still running, and it took the airborne demon Lord catching hold of him from above and pushing him down to the ground to make him stop.

 

Inuyasha remained where he’d fallen on the dirty ground, heart thundering in his chest, looking up shakily at his Master. Bakusaiga was unsheathed in Sesshoumaru’s hand, and his eyes were icy. The demon Lord stepped forward leisurely towards his prey, and when Inuyasha managed to stand up, Sesshoumaru reached out and backhanded him across the face.

 

Inuyasha fell once more, clutching his red cheek despondently, and he remained on the ground, lowering his head to allow his bangs to fall over his eyes that were beginning to fill with tears.

 

“Were you trying to get yourself killed?” Sesshoumaru asked in a deathly calm voice that made Inuyasha want to curl up at his feet and beg for forgiveness. “What did you imagine the outcome would be of running straight into a hoard of strange demons?”

 

Inuyasha looked up startled, rapidly blinking his watering eyes. “A-a hoard…?”

 

“That is where the demon was steering you,” Sesshoumaru said, pointing in the direction Inuyasha had been running. “Did you believe such a powerful creature would allow you to run away so easily? Or have you grown too weak to even sense its power?”

 

“It wasn’t easy!” Inuyasha burst out, looking pleadingly up at his Master. “I’m sorry! I am… but I didn’t… I didn’t know… I didn’t think-”

 

“It is not your place to think when I give you an order!” Sesshoumaru snarled, eyes flashing with fury.

 

Inuyasha deflated as if all the air had been taken out of his body, and crumpled to the ground, head bowed low on the dirty ground as tears flowed from his eyes unchecked. “Please forgive me, Master. I-”

 

“Your leash,” Sesshoumaru interrupted, cold golden eyes hard as diamonds.

 

Inuyasha looked up in surprise for a moment, then lowered his eyes again and nodded. He always carried his leash with him, along with a spare collar. He reached inside his haori and brought out the long black leather leash and offered it up to his Master, head bowed.

 

Sesshoumaru raised his kneeling slave’s chin up roughly. Inuyasha’s face was streaked with dirt where it had clung to his tear-stained face when he bowed to the ground. He fastened the leash on the ring in the front of his collar. Then he unwound the long folds of the leash and looped one end around his palm. It was long enough to allow the hanyou to walk comfortably if the demon Lord wanted him to. He hadn’t wanted to restrict the hanyou’s movements at all, in case he needed to defend himself, but it seemed the boy was more of a danger to himself left to his own devices. Now he had half a mind to make the hanyou crawl on the forest floor on his knees as punishment for risking his life so foolishly, but he refrained; there would be time enough for that when they reached where they were headed.

 

He gestured for Inuyasha to stand, and the hanyou did, dusting the dirt off his hakama at the knees, and getting to his feet. As Sesshoumaru walked forward, leading his pet by the leash, Inuyasha smiled happily, somewhat ashamed and thoroughly relieved. He hadn’t wanted to run away from his Master, he really hadn’t, but it had felt like he didn’t have any control over what he did anymore, and judging by the fact that Master wasn’t that angry at him, he seemed to know that. At any rate, he was happy to have the choice of disobeying taken out of his hands. For the first time in days, Inuyasha found himself breathing a little easier.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Inuyasha was forced to lie down. The demon Lord did not take off Inuyasha’s leash when they settled down to rest, and instead, looped it around his hands a few more times so that it was even shorter, making it impossible for Inuyasha to move or even sit up without waking his Master.

 

Miserably dreading the nightmares, and at the same time, knowing he deserved this punishment, Inuyasha quietly lay down on his side, head resting on his arm folded under him. His face was turned towards the demon Lord, because if he tried to turn on his other side, the leash pulled at his collar.

 

Glancing up at his Master who already seemed to be falling into slumber, Inuyasha thought for a moment how nice it must be to be strong enough to sleep soundly in such a forest and be untroubled by the kind of dark dreams that he had. His Master had said that the forest affected him too, but Inuyasha had decided he had only said so to make him feel better, because not once in all these days had the demon Lord woken up covered in sweat, or shivering from head to toe like he did. As exhaustion made his eyes fall shut, Inuyasha sent up a small prayer to whatever gods were listening to allow him one night, just one night of sound sleep.

 

But ever since he was a child, the gods had never really listened to the half-demon at all. In his sleep, he had forgotten about his leash, and it wrenched his neck painfully, when he woke up screaming.

________________________________________________________________________

Once the sun had risen properly and breakfast had been had, Inuyasha found himself almost dragging his feet as he walked behind his Master on his leash. His Master was angry at him, he just knew he was, even though the demon Lord had said nothing further. He hadn’t been allowed to even hunt for food as usual. Instead, the demon Lord had left him tied to a tree by his leash like a dog while he went off to hunt.

 

After he returned, the demon Lord had untied him long enough to gather firewood and make a fire, but he had held his leash the whole time. Inuyasha had had to endure the shame of being tugged by his collar when he stepped too far away, and he was glad there was no one around to witness his humiliation except his smirking Master who lay leisurely under a tree while Inuyasha slogged to make a fire in the cold, damp morning.

 

So far today, they had already encountered two youkai attacks, and it was only a little after noon. The demon Lord had dispatched all of them within seconds without giving them the chance to even say a word, all the while holding Inuyasha’s leash in one hand. Inuyasha knew he should be contrite for having forfeited all freedom through his foolishness, but watching his Master’s cold, furious eyes as he made mince-meat of the strange and dangerous youkai of the forest, Inuyasha, to his dismay, found himself aroused.

 

It shouldn’t be, but it was sexy, being held captive and defenceless by the throat while his Master dispatched their enemies one-handed. The thought that these very same youkai, that were too strong for him to even resist, let alone fight, were nothing before his Master’s strength, that through all the dangers, his life was no longer in his own hands, sent little shivers of excitement up his cock, and into his belly.

 

“M-Master,” he said hesitantly, when the demon Lord had sheathed bakusaiga.

 

Sesshoumaru, who had been prepared to walk on, turned around to look at the hanyou, and Inuyasha lowered his eyes, blushing furiously to have his Master’s gaze on him.

 

“Master… I want to… may I… please you with my mouth?” he mumbled.

 

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow, and glanced at the demon carcass not a few feet away. “Here?”

 

Inuyasha nodded vigorously. “I was trying to be good all day, but… please?”

 

“All day?” the demon lord asked, his voice suddenly low and amused.

 

Inuyasha blushed even more but nodded hesitantly.

 

Sesshoumaru walked towards his puppy, winding the leash around his hand as he covered the distance, until he was right in front of the pup. Glancing downwards, he could see the tell-tale tent in Inuyasha’s hakama.

 

“And what has brought this on?” he asked, voice unreadable.

 

Inuyasha’s eyes were trained on the ground and puppy ears twitched as he tried to think of a good answer.

 

“Master was… Master was angry,” he mumbled.

 

The demon Lord reached out and brushed a finger against a flickering puppy ear. “Hmm… and?”

 

Inuyasha blushed even more and bit his lip anxiously. “I like it… I like it when I get to be of use in relieving Master’s anger.”

 

But Sesshoumaru always knew when his pet was keeping something back, and he asked, “Is that all that this is about?”

 

Inuyasha wished he could sink into the ground and disappear. But he knew his Master wouldn’t let him go without an honest answer.

 

“And- and the leash,” he said in a barely audible whisper.

 

Sesshoumaru frowned and gave a not very gently tug on the same leash, jerking Inuyasha’s head forward. “It seems puppy enjoyed his punishment a little too much,” he said, and the lace of anger, along with cold amusement behind the statement made Inuyasha shudder with excitement.

 

“Go on,” the demon Lord said. “Get on your knees.”

 

Inuyasha heart raced as he allowed his knees to buckle under him. But there wasn’t enough give in the leash, and he gasped and looked up at his Master pleadingly as the collar choked him. Sesshoumaru watched him for a moment with cruel amusement in his eyes, before he slowly, deliberately unwound the leash a little and allowed Inuyasha to comfortably fall to his knees.

 

Inuyasha’s fingers were trembling as he reached out and freed his Master’s cock from his hakama. An amused and angry Sesshoumaru was a dangerous Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha knew he would be shown no mercy in the use the demon Lord would make of him. The thought just made the half-demon harder.

 

Inuyasha shuffled forward on his knees and began to slowly and sensually bring his Master’s organ to hardness. The demon Lord’s hand came to rest on his head. Those clawed fingers were simply playing idly with his ears, but the touch made Inuyasha all the more horny, and he couldn’t help but squeeze his things together desperately.

 

His ministrations yielded fruit before long, and soon, the demon Lord was hard and heavy in his mouth. Inuyasha’s mouth watered as he tasted his Master’s precum, and enjoyed the feel of the large, pulsing cock on his tongue.

 

He had just begun to bob his head up and down, when loud screeches rent the air, and Inuyasha heard the flapping of hundreds of massive wings. It seemed to be coming from the direction Sesshoumaru had his back towards, and Inuyasha prepared to release the cock from his mouth to see. But the hand on his head was suddenly like lead, and he was not allowed to pull back.

 

“You will finish what you started, Inuyasha,” the demon Lord said, voice deep and husky with arousal. He didn’t have to look at the birds to know they were vulture-like youkai; he could tell from the sound of their screeches. The carcass must have attracted these vulture-like bird youkai, and by their angry sounds, the fact that there seemed to be two people left living didn’t seem to have pleased them any.

 

The hanyou’s eyes were almost rolled up in his head as he tried to look up desperately. Inuyasha’s panic amused him; more, it pleased him, and he allowed the birds to get closer and closer, even as he pushed Inuyasha’s head down on his cock, breaching his throat, making it convulse in panic.

 

And the hanyou truly was panicking, muffled moans and hums all he could manage as his Master continued to cant his hips forward, enjoying Inuyasha’s little throat closing up around his engorged member.

 

The birds were almost overhead now, flying in large circles, casting large dark shadows below.

 

“Touch yourself,” Sesshoumaru murmured. Inuyasha’s head almost shot up in surprise, but the demon Lord did not allow him to move and Inuyasha was left with looking up at him pleadingly.

 

When his order was not obeyed, Sesshoumaru pulled the leash tighter, choking Inuyasha further even as he stabbed into his throat. Feeling like he couldn’t breathe, Inuyasha fumbled in his own hakama for his hard cock and hastily began to pump.

 

Sesshoumaru seemed satisfied with this, and he loosened the leash, allowing some reprieve to the suffocating hanyou. He pulled back from his throat slightly, only to push right back in after Inuyasha had taken not more than one or two deep breaths.

 

Inuyasha moaned around his Master’s cock as his own hand on his cock drove pretty much all other thoughts out of his head. He wanted to think about the threat overhead, about how they were both in a vulnerable position like this, but between his Master’s rough and thorough use of his mouth and being allowed to take care of his own needs, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

 

The demon Lord felt Inuyasha’s surrender in the relaxation of his muscles and in the way his breathing eased, and he smiled pitilessly, raising a hand above his head.

 

His poison whip snapped straight up in the air and fell upon the birds ruthlessly, spinning breath-taking green designs in the sky, tearing their bodies into little pieces.

 

Inuyasha froze for a moment as body parts and blood rained around them, somehow leaving them untouched, and then his hand and his mouth sped up frantically. How foolish of him to think they were ever in any danger. How silly of him to have thought he could sense danger when his Master didn’t. The demon Lord had once again shown him how insignificant his worries and thoughts were before his Master’s orders, and Inuyasha devoted himself to the task at hand with all the more enthusiasm, determined to make up for his lack of faith with his mouth.

 

He came shuddering in his own hand even as the demon Lord pushed his head down and shot his cum down Inuyasha’s abused throat.

 

* * *

 

 

A few minutes of walking later, the clearing seemed to appear from out of nowhere. One minute, they were walking along in the deep, impenetrable forest, and the next, they walked through some trees onto a lovely open space.

 

Inuyasha’s first impression of it was that they had bizarrely happened upon a human village. There were several huts scattered a little distance away, and smoke was merrily coming out of the chimney of some. He could see a few young girls in the distance, playing happily on the ground.

 

The atmosphere had shifted again as soon as they entered the clearing. The air was suddenly sweeter, lighter, and the odd, heavy weight that Inuyasha had felt when he stepped into the forest had cleared. He could hear birds chirping loud and clear again, and the sky overhead was a crisp, clear blue. Inuyasha raised his head up and took in great gulps of air, feeling like he could breathe freely again.

 

“Sesshoumaru! What’re you doing here?” bellowed a female voice.

 

Inuyasha turned towards the voice.

 

A young woman was stepping out of the largest hut, a miko by the looks of her outfit. She had a slender, almost bony face and looked to be in her late twenties.

 

As she came closer, Inuyasha frowned. He had known a few mikos when he was a child. He had even lived with one for a little while after his mother passed away, before the slavers had caught hold of him. They were pure, gentle creatures, tending to the sick and wounded, protecting humans from demon attacks.

 

This woman didn’t look gentle. Her long hair was untied, and in wild disarray. She wore strange bracelets on her wrists, and there was a short sword tucked into her obi. Even her voice wasn’t pleasant, but rather, raspy and loud.

 

And she had addressed Sesshoumaru-sama without his title. Inuyasha knew mikos to be polite and respectful women. It gained them nothing to offend people when their duties were often unpleasant, like exorcising demons possessing people.

 

But Sesshoumaru didn’t seem offended. A rare smile was on his lips as he watched her approaching. “Mafuyu,” he said in greeting.

 

Mafuyu stepped forward with a grin, and before Inuyasha’s scandalized eyes, proceeded to give Sesshoumaru a hug.

 

And to his greater astonishment, Sesshoumaru returned it briefly, silk sleeves enveloping her comparatively slight frame before the female stepped back.

 

“And who might this be?” she asked, eyes raking over Inuyasha from head to toe.

 

Inuyasha bowed low, figuring that anyone who was on such close terms with Sesshoumaru deserved as much respect as he would give to Lady Tsukiko and Lord Inu no Taisho.

 

“This is Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru introduced.

 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Inuyasha,” Mafuyu said, eyes lingering on the collar around Inuyasha’s neck. “Come on over here, both of you, and I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

 

Bewildered, Inuyasha followed her. The clearing was larger than it had appeared at first glance. There was a shrine, and a large hut next to it. Scattered around it were the several smaller huts he had seen earlier. Inuyasha could faintly hear the sounds of sweeping coming from inside the shrine.

 

A fire was burning where the miko led them and a pot of tea was already boiling on the fire. There was a young boy crouching next to the fire, tending to it. He was wearing only a loin cloth and collar. The fire reflected dully off the boy’s dark, oiled smooth skin, and his hard, carved muscles, and if it weren’t for his pointed ears and clawed fingers and toes, he would have passed for a human.

 

Strangely enough, wicker chairs were laid out before the fire, instead of seats on the ground as was traditional, and Mafuyu gestured for Sesshoumaru to take a seat before sitting down herself.

 

“This is Taiko,” Mafuyu introduced, glancing towards the boy. He jumped a little, apparently startled at hearing his name, but kept his eyes lowered, and only concentrated on taking the tea-kettle off the fire.

 

The demon Lord took the proffered seat, and as Inuyasha knelt at his feet, the hanyou caught a closer glimpse of Taiko. The collar around his neck seemed to be made out of some kind of wiry material that looked a little like a dry, thorny vine wound around his neck. It seemed to bite into his neck every time he moved or tensed his neck muscles; there was dried blood crusted on the skin of his neck, and when he reached over to pour tea into tea-cups, a few fresh drops of blood oozed out. Taiko’s respectfully lowered face gave no indication of the pain he felt, although Inuyasha saw Mafuyu’s eyes linger on it with a strange kind of satisfaction.

 

“How long has it been, Sesshoumaru?” Mafuyu asked, turning her eyes back to Sesshoumaru. “Certainly, before you got this one,” she added, glancing at Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him at that. Mikos were human. That meant this woman here, if she really was a miko was human. He had been with Sesshoumaru-sama for over 200 years. How was it possible for a human woman to live that long?

 

“Yes, I really am a miko, little one,” Mafuyu said, turning her penetrating gaze on Inuyasha, eyes twinkling. Inuyasha turned bright read. Could she read minds? Was she inside his head?

 

Mafuyu laughed. “No, I can’t read minds, though I do enjoy messing with them. Don’t worry, all your dirty little secrets are safe inside your head,” she said with a wink.

 

Inuyasha averted her eyes, blushing bright read.

 

Taiko crawled over to her and kneeling at her feet, handed her a cup of tea, raising his eyes for a moment to make sure he didn’t spill any. She took it without so much as glancing at him, and only Inuyasha noticed the adoring look in Taiko’s eyes when he looked at her.

 

“This is the daughter of the priestess Midoriko, Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said, accepting the cup of tea she passed to him.

 

Inuyasha tore his eyes away from Taiko abruptly, startled. “T-the Midoriko-sama of legends? But- but how is that possible-?”

 

“The miko blood in us is too strong,” Mafuyu said, absently reaching out playing with Taiko’s hair as he readied another cup. He blushed and the cup in his hand trembled drawing the attention of Mafuyu and her guests.

 

“Pardon him, he is unused to guests,” Mafuyu said, giving Taiko an indecipherable look that had him blushing and lowering his head even more.

 

 “It is a blessing – or a curse – of my bloodline,” Mafuyu continued, taking the cup Taiko handed her. “I had a choice to either sacrifice myself heroically in battle like my mother, or allow myself to age gracefully and pass into old age and death like my sister, or I could do this-” she gestured expansively at the clearing, and the bracelets on her arms clanked together “- come here and settle in the middle of nowhere in this cursed forest, and carve out a little piece all of my own.”

 

Mafuyu leaned forward and handed Inuyasha the cup of tea. An irrational shiver of fear went down Inuyasha’s spine as she leaned close to him; she smelled odd – like smoke and blood and something else he couldn’t put a finger one. Inuyasha accepted the cup with trembling hands, face flaming red – no one ever offered tea to a slave, but he couldn’t very well refuse her.

 

“S-so it’s the curse of the forest that allows you not to age?” Inuyasha asked hesitantly, once she had sat back in her seat with her own cup of tea.

 

Mafuyu laughed. “You have been travelling through the forest. Do you really think it would do anybody any favours?”

 

Inuyasha blushed and looked away, feeling stupid. Of course the horrible forest would never do anything good for anybody.

 

“I told you,” she said, “The miko blood is too strong in me. At one time, I was taught that that means I don’t get to live the life everyone else does. It was only later I learned that it also means I get to do what they don’t. Time was being a fickle bitch, so I paused it for a little while.”

 

Inuyasha slowly lowered the cup of tea he had raised to his lips and stared.

 

Mafuyu’s eyes twinkled amusedly. “Well, drink it before it gets cold,” she said.

 

Inuyasha blinked, glanced up at his Master who was sipping his tea at leisure, and took a sip.

 

 

Later, after tea was had and the guests had freshened up, Inuyasha found himself exploring the little clearing alone while his Master spoke with the miko in the shrine.

 

* * *

 

“So, what really brings you here, Sesshoumaru?” Mafuyu asked, once they were inside. Her voice was suddenly not raspy and loud at all, but melodic and well-modulated. Her wild-looking eyes were suddenly clear and focused and sharp, although they still shone with dark and undefinable things.

 

The shrine consisted of a simple hut that was protected by a spell; no one on the outside, even with the keenest demon hearing, would be able to overhear them. It would probably seem strange to an outsider, a miko inviting a taiyoukai into a shrine, but Mafuyu knew that far worse things often happened in the supposed sanctity of shrines, so she figured the gods wouldn’t really mind a demon Lord in here.

 

Sesshoumaru, who sat in the traditional seiza position opposite the miko, reached inside his robes, and pulled out the small vial containing the liquid he had extracted from Inuyasha’s wound.

 

“I want to know what this is,” he said, handing it over to her.

 

Mafuyu discerned the grave look on Sesshoumaru’s face, then held the little bottle up to her eye-level, looking at it with her piercing eyes.

 

“I will have to test it to be sure,” she said finally.  “I can tell you in a few days.”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded. “In that case, we may have to impose upon your hospitality a little longer.”

 

Mafuyu waved this off airily. “Stay as long as you like. I’ll be glad of the company. It gets pretty quiet out here.”

 

She smiled that cheeky smile he remembered from so many years ago. “Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know Inuyasha better. Poor kid must really be something else to put up with you all the time and be so happy about it.”

 

Sesshoumaru smiled one of his rare, genuine smiles.

 

* * *

 

 

 **Technical note:** The stone **_apron_** described in Sesshoumaru’s dream is an architectural term used to describe “a raised section of ornamental stonework below a window ledge, stone tablet, or monument.” (source: Wikipedia). It’s that thing under windows that sometimes doubles as the roof-like extension for the window underneath it.

 

 

 **A/N** : Mwwaaahahaaaahaa I bet you hadn’t expected that =^.^= So we find out the real reason why Sesshoumaru wanted to go through the forest.

 

My chapters for this story seem to be getting longer and longer. 16 Microsoft pages **o.o** Sorry if it was too long. Please comment and let me know what you think. As always, criticism, flames, all welcome. Jaa ne!


	9. A Bad Day All Around

**A/N:** Thank you to **Apricotbaby, LadyOakenshield1989, RoyalSoukoku1827 (EsteSapphire), Specs2, mikurocks1234, Lady_Demonia, SlySkySeamen, Caribbean_Bell, fox lover, southpenguin1, Aijindaiku, Danime, blinne, Kittensandpiercings, StrikeSnow, JimaKun, Kcdc, Cuddlycc01, QueenoftheClouds,** and **NoirBrevia** for reviewing ^.^

This chapter is dedicated to **apricotbaby (** formerly **ebonycello) ,**  who totally made me melt with a lovely comment.

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 9 –  A Bad Day All Around**

****

**_“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” (Man plans, God laughs)_ **

 

**_-a Yiddish proverb_ **

“Puppy?” the female racoon demon sitting next to Inuyasha asked doubtfully.

 

Inuyasha nodded, reaching forward to move his piece of the game a few steps forward.

 

All of Mafuyu’s ‘pets’ and Inuyasha were sitting on the ground outside, playing a game one of the others taught Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru and the miko had gone off somewhere leaving the others to entertain themselves. In the few days that they had been there, Inuyasha had found, surprisingly, that the others were mostly friendly, and didn’t seem to care much that he was a half-demon. “We’re all freaks of one kind or the other here,” one of them had told him. “Why should we care what kind you are?” Inuyasha had found himself, for the first time, with companions, and though he dreaded what was to come ahead, he was able to put his worries aside for the moment and just have some fun.

 

“Why would your master call you that?” she asked, giving the rough-and-tumble looking hanyou a once over. She was straight-forward but kind, and Inuyasha found he didn’t mind her asking these questions.

 

“I don’t know,” Inuyasha said, intently watching Taiko making his move. “I was little when Master bought me. That’s what he’s always called me.”

 

He looked up at the girl who had a look on her face he couldn’t place and he frowned. “Why what’s the matter?” he asked her.

 

She was looking intently at the tiles in front of her and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Nothing,” she said. “It seems... kind.” She mumbled.

 

Across from him, Taiko snorted. “More like weak,” he sneered.

 

Inuyasha frowned. The kid was really getting on his nerves. Inuyasha had no way of knowing how old he would be in demon years, but Taiko looked no older than 7 or 8. Despite his thinness and his defined, slender muscles, his limbs still held that undefinable softness that differentiated a boy from a man. So it was surprising to him, the kind of poisonous words that could come out of his lips. Whenever he was around Mafuyu, he was the model submissive, but away from her, he was an obnoxious little shit, according to Inuyasha.

 

“Shut up,” he told the boy shortly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Everybody suddenly paused in what they were doing to look up at the two. Taiko had also stopped playing with the piece in his hand. He stared at Inuyasha and his eyes narrowed. His brown irises were flecked with gold, especially noticeable when he was angry.

 

“What did you just say to me, half-breed?” he demanded.

 

It didn’t show on Inuyasha’s face that the name affected him at all. “I said shut up before I kick your ass,” Inuyasha answered, smirking.

 

“W-why don’t we just concentrate on our game?” another boy said, looking down at the pieces on the ground in front of them.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru must be a poor master indeed to let a half-demon run his mouth like that before full demons,” Taiko sneered.

 

The racoon demon, Kia, gasped and covered her mouth. One other girl who had been playing quietly turned pale as she looked up, as did the other boy besides her.

 

“Your slave has an opinion,” came Lord Sesshoumaru’s deep voice from behind them, and Taiko froze.

 

“It would seem so,” came Mafuyu’s raspy drawl, and it was Taiko’s turn to be afraid. They turned around and bowed their heads to the ground, Taiko just a second later than the others.

 

“G-gomen-“ Taiko started to say.

 

“Be quiet.” Mafuyu ordered, voice low and sharp. “You have now lost your privileges of speech until I decide otherwise.”

 

Taiko nodded, head bowed.

 

“Apologies for his behaviour, Sesshoumaru,” Mafuyu said, turning to the demon Lord.

 

She turned her eyes on her slave, and Taiko, recognizing the dangerous glint in them, shivered. His eyes kept darting to Sesshoumaru, but the demon Lord simply inclined his head at her and ignored all of them.

 

They continued on their own way, leaving the slaves kneeling stunned on the ground. Inuyasha didn’t miss the way Taiko glared after them hatefully. For the first time, Inuyasha noticed the thin green markings on his eyelids and ears.

 

* * *

 

 

It was dusk, and Inuyasha was still outside with the others when there was a loud crash in the forest. Before he had more than blinked and looked around, he saw the white blur of his Master flying past him towards the source of the disturbance. Inuyasha immediately got up and followed. He didn’t have to go far, and he reached just in time to see Mafuyu also skid to a stop nearby.

 

They were outside the magical boundary, and Inuyasha instantly felt the change. The air was heavier, unpleasant, and everything was once again bleak and gloomy. Inuyasha tried to ignore the pit in his stomach from the atmosphere of the forest and tried to concentrate on the problem before them.

 

A tall tree seemed to have just fallen by the looks of the dust surrounding it, and the agitated birds and animals around it, but even though the tree was huge, that by itself wouldn’t have been enough to cause such a loud sound.

 

“What was that?” Inuyasha asked, eyes searching for the youkai that must have caused the disturbance, but there was nothing in sight.

 

Sesshoumaru and Mafuyu both had their gazes fixed on a point over the collapsed tree’s trunk. “Well, shit,” Mafuyu muttered under her breath.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement with that assessment.

 

Inuyasha looked from one to the other, taking in their identical sombre looks and frowned. “Wh-what is it? A youkai?” he asked, not liking the fact that there was anything attacking them that could get his Master to take it seriously.

 

“It’s not a youkai,” Mafuyu, eyes still fixed over that one spot as another tree went crashing down not far from the other one. “That is, it’s not **_a_** youkai.”

 

“At least a hundred,” Sesshoumaru estimated.

 

“But…I don’t see anything,” Inuyasha said lamely. He was sure there was nothing to see.

 

“Do you see the air disturbed over there?” Mafuyu asked him, pointing to a spot above the fallen tree. Inuyasha squinted and nodded doubtfully. It was no more a disturbance than from intense heat. But there wasn’t anything else she could be pointing at.

 

“That is how fast they are,” Mafuyu said. “Usually, no more than three or four band together. All the carcasses you left behind in the forest must have attracted them in this number,” she said, glancing at Sesshoumaru.

 

Sesshoumaru ignored her accusation and continued watching them. “I have never encountered them in this number either. If we don’t stop them, they will start demolishing the forest and displace all the creatures that live in them. There could be a stampede.”

 

Mafuyu nodded. “Not even my boundary will hold if a stampede of youkai charges at it.”

 

Inuyasha swallowed nervously. “So… how do we fight them if we can’t see them?”

 

“They’re after the trees, not us,” Mafuyu said. “But the minute we move, they’ll attack us and tear us to pieces with their pincers.”

 

Inuyasha turned to stare at her, wide eyed.

 

She glanced at him. “Well, we’re not going to _let_ them! Honestly,” she said exasperatedly, glancing at Sesshoumaru. There was a slight amused smile on the demon Lord’s lips, but his eyes were still grave.

 

“Can he fight?” Mafuyu asked Sesshoumaru nodding towards Inuyasha.

 

“A little,” the demon Lord answered. Inuyasha turned red and suddenly became very interested in his feet.

 

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Mafuyu told him. “It’s more than any of my pets can do.”

 

Inuyasha still refused to raise his eyes, but his ears perked up a little.

 

They stared in silence at the fallen tree, while the sun slowly dipped lower in the horizon, darkening the little clearing.

 

“Alright how about this?” Mafuyu said finally. “They won’t be able to cross my boundary, so we’ll keep that in one direction. Inuyasha, you stand here, Sesshoumaru, you go over there. I’ll try to herd them towards you, you attract them as best as you can, and we’ll take them down as they come down to attack us. Inuyasha, all you have to do is make sure you don’t for a second stop swinging your sword. Don’t let them come close to your face or they’ll take a bite out of you.”

 

Sesshoumaru’s eyes flickered over the locations a few times. The miko would know these parts and the habits of the creatures that lived here better, and it seemed as good a plan as any. He nodded slowly. “It’s worth a try,” he said.

 

“Good,” Mafuyu said. “You know what to do?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded again, slowly roving his eyes over the tree, estimating their formation. They were already beginning to spread out again.

 

Inuyasha swallowed nervously and held his sword out in front of him. Mafuyu took in his nervous but determined face and his sword stance and locked eyes with Sesshoumaru. The demon Lord understood what the look conveyed and nodded imperceptibly in agreement. _No demons were to go anywhere near Inuyasha if it could at all be helped._

Mafuyu stepped back slowly, away from Sesshoumaru and signalled for Inuyasha to do the same. Reluctantly, the hanyou moved away too.

 

“If you haven’t seen him do this before,” she whispered, “Don’t, for any reason, go anywhere near him or you’ll be cut to smithereens.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her, startled, but nodded.

 

The demon Lord stood stock still for a moment. Then he raised one hand above his head, two fingers extended, and the poison whip unfurled, straight and high. Then it was falling around him and then with a slight motion of his hand, he was spinning, slowly at first, then faster, the glowing whip forming beautiful, intricate patterns around him.

 

The air shifted, like a buzzing but without a sound, as the demons spotted the movement and headed towards it.

 

And suddenly, there was blood and flesh mixed with the green glow of the whip’s design. It rained around him, and Inuyasha, for a moment, forgot where he was and stared, slack-jawed, at the flesh and blood suddenly appearing, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

In front of him, there was the sharp _snickt_ of a blade slicing through the air, and Inuyasha suddenly found the blood and flesh all to close to him. He dumbly turned towards Mafuyu who had her weapon out.

 

“Sword! Now,” Mafuyu hissed to him, sheathing her weapon, and then she was gone from his side.

 

Inuyasha snapped out of his stupor with a start and raised his sword with trembling hands, swinging it blindly before his face and above his head.

 

Mafuyu stood behind the tree, hands at her side, palms open. She began muttering under her breath, and a soft, pink wind rose up around her, gathering almost unobtrusively like a fog, creating a soft line in the air. The few demons that had hadn’t attacked with the others began to move away from it automatically, and towards the green whip.

 

A few minutes later, the air around the tree had stopped shimmering, and the amount of flesh and blood raining around the whip had reduced. Inuyasha smiled, relieved, swinging his sword with renewed enthusiasm. So far, no more than once or twice had his sword hit anything. And it looked like it was almost over.

 

“Stop,” Sesshoumaru ordered suddenly. He came to a standstill himself, and glanced sharply first at Inuyasha, and then at Mafuyu. “Don’t move.”

 

“There are more coming in,” Mafuyu said, looking up at the sky. That wasn’t supposed to happen. These sorts of youkai usually travelled with the whole hoard. The fact that there were more arriving meant that either they had broken that pattern, which was highly unlikely, or this was a different hoard.

 

Inuyasha froze where he was, sword arm still extended. The harsh wind washed over him, bringing with it the acrid smell of burnt flesh, but he remained still. He had learned his lesson on the way over.

 

Mafuyu, however, after freezing obediently for a moment, glanced at Sesshoumaru once, then at the monsters, and then leaped, up and ahead of them.

 

The shimmer of demons in the sky headed straight for her, almost enclosing her figure. Mafuyu turned in midair, hand on the short sword at her waist, and then she was drawing it like a katana. When she raised it above her head, the blade was covered in the pure pink of her holy powers.

 

Then Sesshoumaru had rushed forward with Bakusaiga, aiming for the arc around Mafuyu’s blade, and the forest was filled with the wailing, screeching cries of the invisible demons.

 

* * *

 

“You’ve learned new attacks,” Sesshoumaru said appreciatively, glancing down at the short sword in her belt. The battle was over and the last of the demons lay slain on the forest floor.

 

“And you’ve got a new blade,” Mafuyu smirked back. “Is it your own?”

 

“It is,” Sesshoumaru replied, holding it out for her to see.

 

The miko examined it interestedly but didn’t reach out to touch it.

 

“Bakusaiga,” she muttered under her breath, slowly going over the runes along the blade. “It’s a good name.”

 

There was a small gasp from Inuyasha that brought both their attention on the hanyou.

 

His knees had buckled and he was kneeling on the ground, breathing hard.

 

“Oh you poor dear,” Mafuyu said, crossing over to him and leaning down next to him. “Are you alright?”

 

Inuyasha nodded shakily. “I’m fine. I’m sorry…”

 

“You were very brave,” Mafuyu told him. “Even trained warriors would be no less afraid of those creatures.”

 

Inuyasha looked up at her hopefully. “R-really?”

 

Mafuyu straightened up suddenly and glared down at him. “I do not lie.”

 

“Yes, you do,” Sesshoumaru muttered from behind her.

 

Mafuyu looked stern for just a moment, then her face broke out into a grin. “Well, I’m not lying about this. You did really well, Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha couldn’t help smiling as well. The miko held out a hand to him. Inuyasha glanced at his Master; the demon Lord didn’t seem to mind, so he took her hand and got to his feet.

 

“Come, I think we all need a hot meal,” Mafuyu said, heading back towards the hut.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Not too long after, they were having a hearty dinner. Apparently, it had been the raccoon youkai girl, Kia’s turn to make dinner, and she was an excellent cook. Mafuyu and Inuyasha were the last to finish eating and they sat on little stones that had flattened out over time and that now served as seats.

 

Noticing how quiet the hanyou had been the whole evening, Mafuyu asked, “Is something bothering you, little one?”

 

Inuyasha blushed at being called that by a human woman, and he shook his head hesitantly.

 

“That won’t do, you know,” she told him serenely, seemingly focused on the bowl of soup on her plate.

 

“Well,” Inuyasha said hesitantly. “It’s just…”

 

He looked at her and she was listening to him carefully. His Master was nowhere in sight. He had finished his dinner early and left.

 

“You didn’t obey him,” Inuyasha blurted out to her in an awestruck voice. “And… and he wasn’t angry. I’ve never seen that before.”

 

Mafuyu took a bite of the piece of bread she had on her plate. “It holds to reason, right? He’s a youkai. I’m a priestess. He can’t possibly expect me to obey.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her blankly, and she burst out laughing. “Alright, yes, I know that’s exactly what he would expect. But that doesn’t mean I have to listen.”

 

Inuyasha glanced down at the bowl of soup in his own hands, and then looked away.

 

* * *

 

 

It was past midnight when Mafuyu and Sesshoumaru sat across from each other on the floor of her hut. The only light was from a few torches and a small fire. Inuyasha and Mafuyu’s pets were all in their respective huts, asleep, or getting ready to sleep. In the dark, silent night, the miko’s eyes glinted like diamonds as she held up the little vial Sesshoumaru had given her.

 

“Sesshoumaru,” Mafuyu said, all playfulness gone from her manner. “Where did you obtain this?”

 

Sesshoumaru remained silent and stared at her steadily. “Is it poison?” he asked.

 

 

 

She sighed and placing the vial before her, folded her hands in her sleeves. “No, it is not poison. Although it certainly could poison somebody. Whom did you extract it from, Sesshoumaru?”

 

Sesshoumaru looked away to stare at the darkness outside the window. “From Inuyasha.”

 

Mafuyu blinked at him. “Fuck,” she said eloquently.

 

Sesshoumaru turned his attention back on her seriously. “What is it, Mafuyu?”

 

“Have you not guessed yet?” she asked him gravely. “It is mating serum.“

 

Sesshoumaru had considered it, but he had also dismissed it as ridiculous. His eyes widened slightly. “How is that possible?” he asked in an indifferent tone of voice, but Mafuyu heard the aggravation behind it.

 

“I did not mate him,” the demon Lord mused out loud. “How can my body secrete mating serum when -”

 

Mafuyu sighed, her lashes highlighted in the shadowy hut as she gazed down reflectively. “That is precisely why it happened, Sesshoumaru. It seems your youkai has chosen its mate.”

 

The sound of Sesshoumaru’s snarl had the same effect on the lesser youkai on the miko’s land as a lion’s roar on animals; they froze in the middle of whatever they were doing and shivered in fear.

 

The miko pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers.

 

“Calm down, Sesshoumaru,” she said, “You’ll scare my pets.”

 

Sesshoumaru glanced irritably at her and then at the huts outside. He couldn’t care less about the childrens’ feelings at the moment. What she was telling him couldn’t be right.

 

“I will _not_ mate a hanyou,” he growled low, voice rough with anger. Golden eyes began to bleed red.

 

* * *

 

 **A/N:** I know some of you saw this coming, but I don’t believe it’s headed where you think it’s headed ^.^ It remains to be seen whether you like the direction or not.

 

I am now also on tumblr. Find me under the name LordYouko.

 

Please comment and let me know what you think! Ja ne!


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